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ANNALS ^ MEMOIRS OF 
THE COURT OF PEKING 




Mummy-Statue at T'ien-T'ai ssu^ commonly held 

TO BE that of the Emperor Shun Chih. 

{By the courtesy of Dr. Perceval Yetts.) 



ANNALS & MEMOIRS OF 
THE COURT OF PEKING 

(FROM THE 16th TO THE 20th CENTURY) 



BY 



E. BACKHOUSE and J. O. P. BLAND 

AUTHORS OF 
"CHINA UNDER THE EMPRESS DOWAGER," ETC. 



ILLUSTRATED 



BOSTON AND NEW YORK 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

1914 



11S73S 



Fringed in England 



-^-^eiAf 



f 



NOTE 

The thanks of the authors are hereby gratefully- 
expressed to Mr. Charles L. Freer, of Detroit, U.S.A., 
for photographs of four masterpieces in his unrivalled 
collection of Chinese paintings ; to Mr. Laurence 
Binyon and to the Trustees of the British Museum 
for permission to reproduce several pictures from the 
Museum collection ; and to Dr. Perceval Yetts for his 
interesting photograph of the Mummy-Priest of the 
temple at T'ien T'ai-ssii. 

Londoji, December 1913. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL PERSONS HEREINAFTER NAMED . 1 

j^/ilraRODUCTION .... 9 

Part I 
THE MING DYNASTY 

CHAPTER I 

A CHINESE HAROUN AL RASCHID 23 

CHAPTER II 

AN INFAMOUS EUNUCH 46 

CHAPTER III 

LI TZ&-Ch'eNG's REBELLION AND THE FALL OF PEKING ... 86 

CHAPTER lY 

WU SAN-KUEI . . . . .118 

CHAPTER V 

THE MANCHU dynasty ESTABLISHED . 138 

CHAPTER YI 

THE MINGS AT NANKING . . . . . . . . .166 

CHAPTER YII 

THE SACK OF YANG CHOU-FU 185 

CHAPTER YIII 

THE LAST OF THE MINGS . ,213 

vii 



CONTENTS 

Part II 
THE MANCHU DYNASTY 

CHAPTER IX 

PAOK 

THE EMPEROR SHUN CHIH 229 

CHAPTER X 
k'ang hsi as a father 239 

CHAPTER XI 

THE TRIBULATIONS OP YUNG CHENG ....... 269 

CHAPTER XII 

YUNG CHENG DISPENSES JUSTICE 289 

CHAPTER XIII 

HIS MAJESTY Ch'iEN LUNG ......... 310 

CHAPTER XIV 

THE DOWNFALL OF HO SHEN ........ 347 

CHAPTER XV 

CHIA CH'iNG : THE BEGINNING OF TUB END ..... 372 

CHAPTER XVI 

TAO KUANG. THE IMPACT OF THE WEST ...... 390 

CHAPTER XVII 

HSIEN FENG AND t'uNG CHIH : THE FACILE DESCENT .... 405 

CHAPTER XVIII 

■j THE SORROWS OF HIS MAJESTY KUANG HSU ...... 429 

CHAPTER XIX 

MEMOIRS OF THE BOXER YEAR (1900) ....... 442 

CHAPTER XX 

^^NCERNING THE OLD BUDDHA 466 

CHAPTER XXI 

THE COURT UNDER THE LAST REGENCY . . . . . . 493 

CONCLUSION ........... 513 

INDEX ........ .... 523 

viii 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

To fact page 
MCMMY-STATUE AT t'iEN-t'aI SSU, COMMONLY HELD TO BE THAT OP THE 

EMPEROR SHUN CHiH ...... Frontispiece 

PORTRAIT OF A CHINESE OFFICIAL. BY WU TAO-TZl? (EIGHTH CENTURY) 24 



RUINS OF THE " SHRINE OF THE MOST HIGH " AT THE SHENG WU GATE, NEAR 
THE COAL HILL ......... 

SCENES OF COURT LIFE : PREPARING TEA FOR HIS MAJESTY . 

SCENES OF COURT LIFE. BY CHIU YING (FIFTEENTH CENTURY) 

THE IMPERIAL PAVILION NEAR THE COAL HILL, WHERE THE LAST MING 
EMPEROR HANGED HIMSELF ..... 

SCENE PROM THE LIFE OF THE COURT .... 
SCENES OF COURT LIFE : LADIES OF THE PALACE . 

A BANQUET GIVEN TO THE OFFICERS OF THE ARMY AT THE " HALL OP PURPLE 
light" IN THE LAKE PALACE ENCLOSURE 

KUNG SHUN, A MANDARIN OP THE HAN DYNASTY . 

A WAR JUNK AT THE TIME OF LORD MACARTNEY'S MISSION 

AN IMPERIAL JOURNEY UNDER THE SUNG DYNASTY 

KUNG KWANG, GRANDSON OF KUNG SHUN 

PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE FORBIDDEN CITY AND THE IMPERIAL CITY PROM 
THE COAL HILL 



PORTRAIT OF HIS MAJESTY CH lEN LUNG ..... 

LORD macartney's EMBASSY AT A HAUL-OVER ON THE TUNGCHOU CANAL 
SUBMISSION OF THE TUNGUS TRIBKS ...... 

THE CAMP AT ALCHUR ........ 

THE RETURN FROM THE WILDERNESS. THE PRINCESS IMPERIAL'S SEDAN 

ix 



44 
60 
84 

104 
120 
150 

170 
190 
210 
230 
260 

286 
310 
334 
376 
392 
420 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

To face page 

the'eeturn from the wilderness, insignia bearers following the 

rearguard. peking, january 7, 1902 ..... 444 7 

ladies of the court working at embroidery ..... 470 v 

the return of the court from exile. head of the imperial 

procession. peking, january 7, 1902 486 >^ 

the return from the wilderness. the sedan chair of his majesty 

kuang hsij. peking, january 7, 1902 ..... 502' 

marble bridge in the imperial palace, at the time of the occupation 

by the allies in 1900 ........ 510 v 

the eastern entrance to the lake palace, after the flight of the 

COURT IN 1900 520'' 



ERRATA 

p. 76, 1. 33, for His read Hsi, 

p. 94, 1. 32, for him read the Emperor. 

p. Ill, 1. 14<,for 4th read 3rd. 

p. 180, 1. 10, for prestiges read auguries. 

p. 208, 1. 8, for 25th of the 5th to the 5th of 
the 4th read 25th of the 4th to the 5th 
of the 5th. 

p. 240, 1. 9,fof Visdelon read Visdelou. 

p. 256, 1. 4:, for T'ui ho read T'ai ho. 

p. 256, 1. 34, /or Khorchia read Khorchin. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

To face page 

the'eeturn from the wilderness, insignia bearers following the 

rearguard. peking, january 7, 1902 . . . . . 444^ 

ladies of the court working at embroidery ..... 470 

the return of the court from e.yile. head of the imperial 

procession. peking, january 7, 1902 ..... 486 

the return from the wilderness. the sedan chair of his majesty 

kuang hsij. peking, january 7, 1902 502 

marble bridge in the imperial palace, at the time of the occupation 

by the allies in 1900 ........ 510 

the eastern entrance to the lake palace, after the plight of the 

COURT IN 1900 520 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL 
PERSONS HEREINAFTER NAMED 



Abtai, elder bi'other of Emperor T'ai Tsung. 

An Te-iiai, Tzti Hsi's favourite eunuch during the first Regency. 

Ac Pai, regent during K'ang Hsi's minority. 

Ac Pag, Grand Secretary under Ch'ien Lung, 

BoRjiKiN, Mongol consort of Shunchih and Empress Dowager of 
K'ang Hsi. 

Chang Chih-tung, scholar and statesman of Kuang Hsii's reign. 
Chang Chih-wan, Grand Councillor in Kuang Hsii's reign. 
Ch'ang Fu, son of Emperor Wan Li ; Prince of Kueiyang. 
Chang Hsien-chung, Li Tzu-ch'eng's chief rebel colleague. 
Ch'ang Hsun, Prince Fu, son of Wan Li, slain by Li Tzu-ch'eng. 
Chang Kuo-chi, adopted father of Hsi Tsung's Empress. 
Ch'ang Lo, or Kuang Tsung, son of Wan Li, reigned one month. 
Chang Pei-lun, one of the " Puritans," under Tzu Hsi; son-in-law to 

Li Hung-chang. 
Chang T'ing-yu, 1670-1756, great scholar under Ch'ien Lung. 
Chang Yin-huan, friend of Kuang Hsii, banished by Tzii Hsi in 

1898, and executed by Prince Tuan's order in 1900. 
Chang Ylfan-fu, eunuch favourite of Lung Yii, commonly called Hsiao 

Chang. He is believed to have stolen her pearl shoes before the 

breath was out of her body. 
Chad Ch'i-lin, a famous censor under Tzu Hsi. 
Chao Shu-ch'iao, allowed to commit suicide in 1900 for supposed 

an ti -foreign proclivities. 
Chao Erh-hsun, ex- Viceroy of Manchuria and opponent of the 

Republic. 
Chad Hui, a Manchu General of Ch'ien Lung. 
Ch'^^.n, Lady, the mistress of Wu San-kuei. 

Cheng, Lady, favourite concubine of Wan Li and mother of Prince Fu. 
n 1 



PRINCIPAL PERSONS NAMED 

Cheng, Prince, one of the conspiring Regents, 1861. 

Cheng Te, reign title of Wu Tsung, Emperor from 1506 to 1522. 

Ch'eng Te, a Manehu who attempted to slay the Emperor Chia Ch'ing. 

Chen Hsin-chia, Ch'mig Chen's Minister of War. 

Cii'en Pi, corrupt Minister under Hsiian T'ung, now adviser to the 

President, Yuan Shih-k'ai. 
Chen Pao-chen, one of the " Puritan " part}^ later tutor to Emperor 

Hsiian T'ung. 
Chia Ch'ing, reign title of Jen Tsung, who succeeded Ch'icn Lung. 
Ch'i Chun-tsao, Grand Councillor under Tao Kuang. 
Cii'i Hsiu, Boxer leader, decapitated in 1901. 
Ching Lin, decapitated by Old Buddha for cowardice. 
Ch'in, Madame, Li Tzu-ch'eng's personal attendant. 
Chin, Prince, a descendant of Yung Lo. 
Ch'ing Yi-k'uang, Prince, Prime Minister under Tzti Hsi for six 

years, and later under the Regent. 
Chin Kuei, a traitor famous in history. 
Ch'i Shan, or Kishan, Viceroy of Canton in 1841. 
Chou, Empress, wife of Ch'ung Chen. 
Chou Kuei, a statesman in the last days of the Mings. 
Ciiu Chih-feng, Governor of Hsiian Hua under Ch'ung Chen. 
Chu Hsien, leader of White Lily sect. 
ChIj Hung-chi, rival to Prince Ch'ing from 1903 to 1907, enemy of 

Yuan Shih-k'ai and ally of Ts'en Ch'un-hsiian. 
Chu Kuei, tutor and valued servant of Chia Ch'ing. 
Ch'un, Princess, mother of Kuang Hsii and sister of Tzti Hsi. 
Ch'ung Chen, last of the Ming Emperors at Peking. 
Ch'ung Ch'i, father of A Lu-te, consort of Emperor T'ung Chih, friend 

of Jung Lu, slew himself in Paotingfu. 
Ch'ung Hou, signed the Treaty of Livadia in 1878. 
Ch'ung Hua, Manehu official in Formosa in 1812. 
Ch'ung Li, Commander of Peking gendarmerie in 1900 and pro-Boxer. 
Chu Shih, Grand Secretary of Ch'ien Lung. 
Chu YtJAN-CHANG, canonised as T'ai Tsu or the Exalted Ancestor, 

founder of the Ming dynasty. 

Deportment Concubine, one of Hsi Tsung's consorts, a tool of Madame 

K'o. 
DoRGUN, Prince Jui, brother of Manehu dynasty's founder and Regent 

to Shun Chih. 

Fan Ching-wen, Ch'ung Chen's Grand Secretary. 
Fan Wen-cheng, high official under T'ai Tsung. 
Fang Ts'ung-che, Grand Secretary of Wan Li. 

2 



PRINCIPAL PERSONS NAMED 

Feng Hsiu, friend of Jung Lu and father of the Yii Fei, or " Gem " 

Concubine, at first known as Hui Fei. 
Fu Ch'ang-an, protege of Ho Shen. 
Fu K'ang-an, a prominent General under Ch'ien Lung and rival of 

Ho Shen. 

Ho Lin, brother of Grand Secretary Ho Shen, under Ch'ien Lung. 
Ho Shen, or Ho K'un, the all-powerful Minister of Ch'ien Lung, put 

to death by his successor Chia Ch'ing. 
Ho Shih-tai, official deputed to receive the Amherst Mission. 
Hsiao Chen, Tzu An, Tzu Hsi's colleague, Empress of the Eastern 

Palace. 
Hsiao Te, Empress, wife of Hsien Feng, who died before he became 

Emperor; canonised as his chief Consort. 
Hsu Ch'eng-yu, son of Hsii T'ung, decapitated by the Allies in 1901. 
Hsu Shih-ch'ang, Viceroy and Grand Councillor, formerly Yuan Shih- 

k'ai's protege. When his patron was dismissed, Hsii character- 
istically did nothing to help him. 
Hsu Shu-ming, a partisan of the Old Buddha in 1898. 
Hsu T'ung, Boxer leader, enemj'' of Kuang Hsti, slew himself in 1900 

on fall of Peking. 
HuAi T'a-pu, kinsman of Old Buddha and of Jung Lu. 
Hung Kuang nominated successor to the last Ming Emperor Ch'ung 

Chen at Nanking in 1644. 
Huang Sou-lan, Vice-President of Board of War in 1900. 
Huang T'ien-pa, a well-known theatrical hero. 
Hung Hsiu-ch'Ijan, the " heavenly king," a Tai Ping leader. 
Hu Yu-fen, high official in Peking under Kuang Hsii, and friendly 

to foreigners. 

I-Chiang-a, Governor of Shantung and protege of Ho Shen. 

Jirhalang, or Chierhalang, first cousin of T'ai Tsung, Prince 

Cheng. 
Jul Ch'eng, Viceroy of Wuchang in 1911, grandson of Ch'i Shan. 
Jung Lu, kinsman of Tzii Hsi, devoted adherent and patriotic Manchu. 

K'ang, Prince, cousin to K'ang Hsi. 

K'ang Yu-wei, reformer, loathed by Tzii Hsi. 

Kao T'ien-te, and Kou Wen-ming, leaders of the White Lily 

rebels in Ch'ien Lung's and Chia Ch'ing's reigns. 
K'o, Madame, Hsi Tsung's wet nurse, the " Lady of Divine Worship," 

who resided in what is now the Naitzti-fu, or "Foster-mother's 

Palace." 

3 



I'RINCIPAL PERSONS NAMED 

K'o, Prince, descended from Nurhachi's second son. 

K'ou Lien-ts'ai, a eunuch decapitated by the Old Buddha. 

KuANG Hui, official deputed to receive the Amherst Mission. 

K'uEi Chun, a chamberlain to the Court under Tzu Hsi and Lung Yti. 

KuEi HsiANG, father of Lung Yii and younger brother of Tzti Hsi. 

KuNG, Prince, senior, died 1898. 

KuNG, Prince, junior; P'u Wei, haughty and hostile to House of 
Ch'un, Opposed the abdication; thought he should have suc- 
ceeded KuangHsu. Recently hved in Tsingtau, leading the Tsung- 
shetang or Restoration Society. 

Lai Pag, commander of Peking gendarmerie under Ch'ien Lung. 

Li, Concubine, favourite Consort of Kuang Tsung. 

Li Chia-chu, Manchu bannerman of Canton, sometime Speaker of the 
Senate. 

Li Chih, personal name of Kao Tsung, Emperor of T'ang dynasty, 
A.D. 655. 

Li Chien-t'ai, Grand Secretary under Ch'ung Chen ; the richest man 
in Peking of that time. 

Li Ching-shu, eldest son of Li Hung-chang. 

Li Hsi-chang, Prefect of Peking under Li Tzu-ch'eng. 

Li Hsiu-ch'eng, the leader of the Taiping rebellion. 

Li Hung-chang, the famous Viceroy of Chihh. 

Li K'o-yung, a General at close of T'ang dynasty, who afterwards 
usurped the Throne. 

Li Kuo-p'u, a Grand Secretary of Hsi Tsung. 

Li Lien-ying, ame damnee and Chief Eunuch of Tzti Hsi. 

Li Ping-heng, anti-foreign and Boxer leader. 

Li Shih-min, the ideal^ ruler, second Emperor of the T'ang dynasty, 
seventh century a.d. 

Li Ting-kuo, brigand chief, supporter of Yung Li, fugitive Ming- 
Sovereign. 

Li Tzu-ch'eng, rebel leader and usurping Emperor. 

Li Yen, one of Li Tztl-ch'eng's Generals. 

Li Yu-heng, Commander-in-chief of Szechuan under Tzii Hsi. 

Liang Ch'i-ch'ao, one of the leading reformers in 1898; subsequently 
a refugee in Japan. Appointed to the Cabinet by Yuan Shih-k'ai. 

Liang K'uei, adopted son and heir of Jung Lu. 

LiAO Shou-heng, Minister on Grand Council under Tzti Hsi, and anti- 
Boxer. 

Lien Wen-chung, clerk in Grand Council who drafted decree of 20th 
June 1900 declaring war against the Powers. 

Lien Yuan, Manchu and anti-Boxer, decapitated in 1900. 

4 



PRINCIPAL PERSONS NAMED 

Lin Hsij, reformer under Kuang Hsli, put to death by Tzu Hsi. 

Lin TsE-HsiJ, Viceroy of Canton, who burned the opium and defied 

Great Britain, thus precipitating the first China War. 
Liu CH't;AN-CHiH, Chia Ch'ing's Grand Secretar5^ 
Liu Chu-hsuan, Prefect of Peking under Hsi Tsung. 
Liu Kuang-fu, Censor under Wan Li. 
Liu K'un-yi, Viceroy of Nanking under TzCi Hsi. 
Liu Lin, alias Liu Ch'ing, leader of Palace conspiracy in 1813. 
Liu Te-ts'ai, eunuch implicated in Chia Ch'ing's Palace conspiracy. 
Liu Tsung-min, a rebel General under Li Tztt-ch'eng. 
Lo Pag, Manchu General under Chia Ch'ing. 
Lu, Prince, cousin of Yung Li, the last of the Mings. 
Lu Ch'uan-lin, a patriotic statesman at the close of the Manchu 

regime. 
Lung K'o-to, maternal uncle of Emperor Yimg Cheng. 
Lung Wu, successor to Hung Kuang, slain at Foochow. 
Lu Yuan-ting, taotai of Shanghai under Kuang Hsu. 

Ma Shao-yu, Ming Peace Commissioner to Manchus. 
Meng Ch'uan-chin, a censor who impeached Po Sui. 
Mien En, Prince Ting, nephew of Chia Ch'ing. 
Mien K'ai, third son of Chia Ch'ing. 
Mu Ch'ang-a, Chief Minister under Tao Kuang. 

NiEii Ch'i-kuei, Provincial Judge under Tzii Hsi. 

Nien Keng-yao, a famous General, ordered to commit suicide by 

Yung Cheng. 
NiNG, Prince, rebelled against the Ming Emperor Cheng Te. 
NuRHACHi, founder of the Manchu dynasty. 

Pan Shih-tsu, Grand Councillor under Tao Kuang. 

Pao Ning, Governor- General of Hi. 

Pag Tai, Resident at Lhasa under Ch'ien Lung. 

Pag YtJN, Grand Secretary under Tzii Hsi. 

Po Sui, Grand Secretary, executed by Hsien Feng. 

P'u An, father of Na T'ung, decapitated for improper conduct whilst 

serving on an examination commission. 
P'u Shan, an Imperial Duke, flogged by Lung Yii's eunuchs. 

San Kuniang, Ch'ien Lung's literary courtesan. 

Shen Kuei-fen, Grand Councillor during Kuang Hsii's minority. 

Shen Liu-t'ing, one of Lung Yii's eunuchs. 



PRINCIPAL PERSONS NAMED 

Shih Hsy, Grand Councillor under Tzil Hsi, afterwards chief guardian 

to Emperor on Manchu downfall. 
Shih K'o-fa, patriotic Grand Secretary of the Ming Emperor Hung 

Kuang. 
Shou Fu, an Imperial Clansman of Kuang Hsii's party, son-in-law of 

Lien Yiian. 
Shun Chih, first Manchu Emperor, said to have taken vows as a bonze 

and to have lived to extreme old age. 
SuLiNGA, father-in-law of Ho Lin, Grand Secretary under Ch'ien Lung. 
Sun Chia-nai, Kuang Hsii's tutor. 
Sung Yun, resident at Lhasa under Ch'ien Lung. 
Sun Shih-yi, Envoy to Burmah under Ch'ien Lung. 
Sun Ti-a, poet of the T'ang dynasty. 
Sun Tzu-shou, one of Kuang Hsu's tutors. 
Sun YiJ-WEN, Grand Councillor under Tzu Hsi. 
Su, Prince, an anti-republican Manchu. 
Su Shun, President of Board of Revenue and Grand Councillor, Imperial 

Clansman and boon companion of Hsien Feng, put to death by the 

two Empress-Regents for treason, in 1861. 



Tax Hung-tzu, first Cantonese to enter Grand Council, died 1910. 
T'an Chiao-t'ien-erh, the most famous actor in China under Tzti Hsi. 
Tao Kuang, reign title of Mien Ning, canonised as Hsiian Tsung, or 

Distinguished Ancestor. 
Teng Ch'eng-hsiu, a Puritan party man of the Reformers of 1898. 
T'lEH Pag, famous scholar under Ch'ien Lung. 
Tien Wen-ching, favourite Minister of Yung Cheng. 
TsAi Chen, son of Prince Ch'ing, and Envoy to the Coronation of 

George V; he complained at not being given a higher precedence, 

and had photographs published of himself as Crown Prince, which 

he was not, and could not be. 
TsAi Feng, Prince Ch'un, the ex-Regent. 
TsAi HsiJN, Prince Chuang, Boxer leader. 
TsAi Lan, Boxer leader and brother of Prince Tuan. 
TsAi Lien, son of Prince Tun, implicated in the Boxer rising. 
Ts'ai Mou-te, defender of the city of Tai Yuan against Li Tzu-ch'eng. 
TsAi YiNG, son of Prince Kung, implicated in Boxer movement. 
TsAi Yuan, one of the conspiring Regents, 1861. 
Ts'ao Pin-chou, tutor to Hsien Feng. 

Tseng Kuo-fan, statesman and soldier who overcame the Taipings. 
Tso Tsung-t'ang, General and statesman under Tza Hsi. 
Tuan Ch'i-jui, a favourite and protege of Yuan Shih-k'ai. 

6 



PRINCIPAL PERSONS NAMED 

TuAN Fang, Viceroy and amateur in curios, decapitated in Szechuan 

by his troops. 
Tu HstJN, eunuch who betrayed Peking to Li Tzu-ch'eng. 
Tun, Prince, fifth son of Tao Kuang {vide Manchu genealogical tree). 
Tung Chia, Empress, mother of K'ang Hsi. 
Tung Fu-hsiang, Boxer leader, who falsely claimed until his death 

that he was obeying Jung Lu's orders in attacking the legations. 
Tung T'u-lai, prominent Chinese supporter of Manchu Emperor T'ai 

Tsung. 
Tu Shou-t'ien, tutor of Tao Kuang. 
Tztj Hsi, the Empress Dowager, Old Buddha, or Western Empress. 

Wang Ch'eng-en, eunuch Commander-in-chief of Peking, who died 

with his master, the Emperor Ch'ung Chen. 
Wang P'eng-yun, a censor under Kuang Hsii. 
Wang Wen-shao, favourite of Tzii Hsi and sometime Viceroy of Chihli. 

Grand Councillor under Tzu Hsi. 
Wan Li, reign title of Shen Tsung, died 1620. 
Wei Chung-hsien, originally called Wei Chin-chung, an infamous 

eunuch under the late Mings. 
Weng T'ung-ho, famous scholar and tutor to Kuang Hsii, Avho was 

dismissed by Tzu Hsi in 1898 for alleged hostility to herself. 
Wu Chao-ping, a Canton merchant who traded with the barbarians 

under Ch'ien Lung. 
Wu HsiANG, father of Wu San-kuei. 

Wu HsiUNG-KUANG, promoted to be Grand Councillor by Ch'ien Lung. 
Wu San-kuei, made a Prince by the Manchus, afterwards adopted 

reign title of his own and rebelled against them. 

Yang Hsiao-lou, palace actor under Lung Yii. 

Yang Hsiu-ch'ing, famous General of the Taiping rebellion. 

Yang Jui-lien, a famous scholar under Yung Cheng and Ch'ien Lung. 

Yang Lien, loyal official who impeached the eunuch Wei Chung-hsien. 

Yen Hsiu, Manchu President of Board of Ceremonies in 1886. 

Yi YuAN-LU, high officer who slew himself at the fall of Peking in 1644. 

Yuan Ciiia-san, grandfather of Yuan Shih-k'ai. 

Yuan Ch'ung-huan, patriotic Ming General, and ancestor of Yuan 

Shih-k'ai. 
Yuan Shih-k'ai, born in 1859 of old official family. Viceroy of Chihli, 

now President of the Republic. 
Yij Hsien, Manchu Governor of Shansi who massacred the missionaries. 
Yij, Prince (son of T'ai Tsung), Manchu Commander-in-chief at siege 

of Yang Chou-fu in 1643. 

7 



PRINCIPAL PERSONS NAMED 

Yu Te, Grand Secretary under the Old Buddha. 

Yij Lu, Viceroy of Tientsin in 1900. 

YiJN CniH, eldest son of K'ang Hsi by a lower concubine. 

Yung Cheng, son of K'ang Hsi and successor to that Monarch. 

Yung Kuei, Grand Secretary under Ch'ien Lung. 

Yung Li, reign title of last Ming Prince, grandson of Wan Li, who 

leigned in the south from 1645 to 1659. 
Yung Lo, fourth son of first Ming Emperor, who usurped the throne 

from his nephew. 



INTRODUCTION 

The enduring interest displayed by many readers in 
the character of China's great Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi, 
and the generous appreciation accorded to our work 
on her hfe and reign, ^ have prompted the behef that 
the present work, covering a wider stretch of space 
and time, should prove interesting, and of some value, 
to those who desire to study the causes, immediate 
and remote, of recent and current events in the Far ' 
East. Until we understand something of the main^] 
springs of thought and action which determine the I 
governance and daily life of a people — something of their 
atavistic memories and instincts, of their social, religious 
and economic systems, it is not possible to sympathise 
with them in their perils and crises of change, or to render 
them the assistance which appreciation of their motives 
and intelligent anticipation of their needs might supply. 
And to see the Chinese world steadily and see it whole, 
to trace cause and effect back to the deeply buried founda- 
tions of their philosophy and civilisation, it is necessary 
to look at things from their point of view, to hear them 
speaking, amongst themselves, of many things which 
the West has forgotten, but which are still part of the 
very soul of the East. It is for this reason that, in the 
present work, as in the life of Tzu Hsi, we have thought 
it best to reproduce the actual form and substance of 
the words in which China's Sovereigns, annalists, com- 
mentators and despatch- writers have recorded the events 

1 China under the Empress Dotvager, 1910. (Heincmann.) 

9 



INTRODUCTION 

of contemporary history, hoping thus to create in the 
mind of the European reader something of the atmosphere 
in which they hved and moved. 

The purpose of the present work is to present a faith- 
ful picture of Hfe at the Court of Peking, beginning with 
the period at which the dechne of the Ming dynasty had 
definitely set in and the rise of the Manchu power had 
begun — that is to say, from the middle of the sixteenth 
century down to the passing of the Manchus, to the chaos 
of degeneration and disruption, which obtains in China 
to-day under the name of a Republic. We have not 
attempted to construct a consecutive chronological record 
of the Empire's internal history or foreign relations, 
but only to present a series of impressions, taken from 
life, serving to illustrate the personal and domestic rela- 
tions of China's rulers with their Court, and of the Court 
itself with the government of the country; to trace 
in these relations (vitally important under China's 
patriarchal system) alternating causes of national growth 
and decay; to watch, during the space of a few genera- 
tions, the sowing of the seeds, and the reaping of the 
harvests, of good and evil. 

Our object being to reproduce as fully and as truthfully 
as possible the atmosphere of the Court of Peking, through- 
out the period which has culminated in the present 
paroxysin of demoralisation, we have allowed the narra- 
tives of Chinese writers to stand, as a rule, without 
attempting to amend or curtail them to meet the con- 
ventions of reticence imposed, in certain directions, 
upon European writers. Here and there (notably in 
the narrative of the sack of Yang Chou-fu) we have 
thought it advisable to omit some of the worst details 
of horrors inseparable from the orgies of bloodshed and 
lust which mark the rise and fall of power in China. As 
a whole, however, we have assumed that the student of 
history prefers to see things as they are, rather than as 

10 



INTRODUCTION 

the moralist would prefer them to be; that he can, and 
will, approach this study of Eastern life, described by 
Orientals, in the same spirit of detachment, with the 
same recognition of fundamental humanities and moralities, 
as that with which we approach the brutal frankness 
of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel — things written 
for our learning. 

There exists a small and happily diminishing class 
of moralists who would rather not look upon the mirror 
of history, or face the unpleasant realities of life, lest 
perchance they be disturbed from their comfortable 
fireside conceptions of the universe. One such there was 
— the manager of an American agency for supplying 
improving literature for the home circle — who recentlj^ 
asked us for a series of articles on China and the Chinese ; 
but he stipulated, amongst other conditions calculated 
to preserve the moral dignity of his subscribers, that 
" they should contain no reference to concubines, secon- 
dary wives or other forms of immorality." The present 
Annals and Memoirs of the Chinese Court are no more 
suitable to the libraries of these dwellers in the walled 
garden of cherished illusions than Job, fresh from his 
place amongst the ashes and scraping himself with a 
potsherd, would be fit company for their drawing-rooms. 
Nevertheless, Job, his affiictions and philosophy, remain 
to this day commonplaces of existence in the Far East, 
and he who would truthfully depict the life of this people 
must take them into account. As it was in the beginning, 
so it is now; while men speak glibly of parliaments and 
representative institutions, the " stupid people " are 
" born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward," because 
of an ancient social system not to be uprooted by any 
philanthropic devices of the West. Within the last 
few months, many a walled city of China has known once 
more the abomination of desolation, has heard again 
the familiar voice of Rachel mourning for her children. 

11 



INTRODUCTION 

Railways, telephones, forts and ships — all the parapher- 
nalia of Europe's material civilisation, have availed 
nothing to save the citizens of Nanking from the hand 
of the destroyers, men of their own race. As it was in 
the time of the Sabeans and the Chaldeans, so it remains 
to-day in the East; the sons of Han "are far from 
safety; they are crushed in the gate, neither is there 
any to deliver them : whose harvest the hungry eateth 
up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber 
swalloweth up their substance." To these hereditary 
victims of an outworn patriarchal system, the words of 
Job are everyday truths. " Terrors make them afraid 
on every side. Their strength is hunger-bitten, and 
destruction stands ever ready at their side. The king 
of terrors dwells in their tabernacles and brimstone is 
scattered upon their habitations." 

The annals and memoirs used in compiling the present 
work have been selected as typically representative of 
the Oriental outlook on life and death, and the business 
of government. We have not sought by any means to 
emphasise the brutalities, debaucheries and cruelties 
of the Forbidden City; we have not looked for horrors, 
nor reproduced anything which the Chinese themselves 
would consider to be outside the range of common experi- 
ence. We have aimed simply at reproducing from Chinese 
sources a series of impressions true to life — ^not life as the 
sentimental humanitarian prefers to imagine it, but life 
as it was yesterday, and will be to-morrow, in the light 
that beat upon the Dragon Throne, and in the dark 
shadows behind it. To do this, we have endeavoured 
to steer a middle course between the Scylla of the Chinese 
chroniclers' brutal realism and the Charybdis of our 
conventional and often priu'ient reticences. 

The reader will best appreciate the historical value 
and the significance of these Chinese records, who, in 
studying them, is able to detach himself for a while from 

12 



INTRODUCTION 

Western modes of thought and standards oi' actions; 
who, clearing his mind of conventions and cant, endeavours 
to understand the fundamental differences between the 
moralities of East and West, and to weigh their results 
without prejudice or passion. It is impossible, for 
instance, for any one who regards polygamy as a form 
of " immorality " to study Chinese history with intelli- 
gent sympathy ; or even to appreciate the motives which 
chiefly influence individuals and determine policies 
amongst the ruling class at this moment. To get the 
correct point of view, we must, in fact, assume for the 
study of China's institutions and history the frame of 
mind in which we approach the lives of the Hebraic 
patriarchs and rulers; cheerfully accepting for them 
customs which we, the heirs of all the ages, have decided 
to modify or to reject. Better still if, in adopting this 
attitude of detachment, we can bring ourselves to recog- 
nition of the truth that the Western World's convictions 
and conventions concerning the moralities are neither 
final nor necessarily superior, as a whole, to those of the 
East. Beneath the cruelties and rapacities of life, the 
brooding soul of the East preserves, with its infinite 
capacity for suffering, the dignity of a philosophy and 
the beauty of ideals which the West has never equalled, 
and from which it has derived many of its noblest inspira- 
tions and religions. Inferior to the European in many 
things that make for intellectual and material progress, 
the Oriental in general, and the Chinese in particular, 
can claim superiority in this, that in remaining nearer to 
nature, he has escaped the shameful hypocrisies and con- 
ventional falsehoods, which play so large a part in the 
social systems of the Western World. Admitted, that the 
East's immemorial acceptance of polygamy, with all its 
multitudinous paternity and chaotic domesticity, repre- 
sents a lower ideal than that which finds expression in the 
monogamous West; admitted, that, as practised by the 

13 



INTRODUCTION 

rulers of China, it lias been the cause of many and great 
evils; yet, so soon as we regard the question dispassion- 
ately and without reference to our own standard of con- 
duct, we are compelled to admit that polygamy, with all 
its evils, has preserved the Chinese from many things which 
they justly condemn and despise in our social system — 
from the terrible human traffic of our streets, from the 
unsexed or superfluous woman and the militant Suffra- 
gette, from the network of sordid sex problems and intrigues 
which honeycomb European society and reflect themselves 
in its literature and drama. The East is by tradition 
and temperament tolerant, reluctant to discuss the im- 
mortal Gods, and, for the rest, judging the tree by its 
fruits ; willing to see good in every creed which preaches 
benevolence and gentleness ; yet even the Chinese cannot 
avoid comparing some of the results of Christianity's 
civilisation with their own, and realising with satisfaction 
that the daily records of our divorce and police courts 
have no parallels in the East. And again, although we 
may disagree with the principles and practice of ancestor 
worship, we cannot deny that it has inculcated reverence 
for parents, with definite ideals of duty, and produced 
a race of women which instinctively prefers death to 
dishonour. The Chinese, with no desire to argue about 
worlds unseen or the road thereto, would be more than 
human if they took no comfort from comparing these 
results of the Confucian philosophy with those of our 
European systems; if they failed to perceive the un- 
deniable fact that (as de Tocqueville observed in America) 
democracy affords neither time nor place for that profit- 
able meditation which makes for the peace of a man's, 
or a nation's, soul. In studying Chinese history it is well 
to remember these things. 

One of the most conspicuous results of the Chinese 
educational and philosophical systems confronts us in 
the family likeness impressed by classical traditions upon 

14 



INTRODUCTION 

the seven ages of their hterature. All the annalists of 
the Mings, like their forbears under the Sung dynasty, 
and their descendants under the Manchus, use the same 
stock phrases, metaphors and arguments, derived one 
and all from the classical authors of antiquity. Age can 
never wither, nor custom stale, the perennial vitality of 
their venerable quotations. The more remote their 
ancientry, the better do they become in the eyes of a race 
of scholars who : 

" Though they wrote in all by rote, 
Could never write it right." 

All Chinese literature is sicklied o'er by the pale cast 
of the Confucian tradition; therefore it is, that in the 
Ming chroniclers of the sixteenth century, as in those of 
the T'ang dynasty, we find the same set phrases, the same 
artificial gestures and ready-made emotions, as we find 
in the presidential mandates of Yuan Shih-k'ai to-day. 
Throughout the whole course of Chinese history, events, 
as recorded by the Hanlin annalist, become stereotyped 
in fixed groves and rigid patterns. The Confucian 
scholar sees and interprets the Avhole human comedy in 
rigid terms of classical allusions. For him there is, indeed, 
no new thing under the sun ; nothing in heaven or earth, 
concerning which the Four Books and the Five Classics 
have not said the first and last word. In the fifteenth 
century, a somewhat similar attitude obtained amongst 
the rank and file of European scholars; indeed there 
is reason to believe that it survives, to this day, in certain 
slumbering backwaters of our universities. The mind 
which lives for and by Latin odes or Greek elegiacs at 
Oxford is surely the same, in its causes and effects, as that 
which rejoices in the production of antithetical couplets 
at Peking ; fortunately for itself, however, it has to deal 
with a different public. The absence of a healthy spirit 
of criticism, due to the Middle Kingdom's splendid 

15 



INTRODUCTION 

isolation and self-sufficiency, gradually evolved a type of 
scholarship amongst the Chinese which displays all the 
erudition of a Montaigne, a Bacon or a Burton, but lacks 
their saving graces of humour and humanity. Thus it 
is that the mandarin scholar, century after century, has 
seen and described men and events in a dull monotone 
of conventional platitudes. Borne down by the weight 
of the classical tradition, all things in heaven and earth 
are associated in his mind with the odes of Confucius, 
the stilted periods of some Sung philosopher, or the 
poems of Li Tai-po. It is not surprising, therefore, that 
we find official annalists of the present day using precisely 
the same expressions as those which were in vogue 
amongst the writers of the Ming period ; or that, through- 
out the dynastic annals, we find evidence of a tendency, 
on the part of the chroniclers, to make history conform, 
as far as possible, to the precedents established by the 
old times before them. 

Judged in the light of its achievements, and even of 
its avowed aims. Young China stands at present condemned 
of futility. With a fair field and much favour, it has failed 
to seize its splendid opportunities; it has been weighed 
in the balance and found wanting. But even whilst 
we recognise that its shrill-voiced iconoclasm and loud 
beating of imported drums present but little justification 
for optimism, yet this, at least, must be placed to its credit, 
that its fervour of zeal for Western learning has been, 
and is, an intelligent protest — a conscious reaction — 
against the petrefaction of the Confucian system, against 
'' the letter which killeth " ; a wholesome breeze of dawn, 
stirring the dead bones in the dark valleys of Chinese 
tradition. The lamp which they have lighted can 
never again be extinguished; the old order must pass, 
giving place to the new. It will be well for China and 
for the world if, in destroying the fetters of the past, the 
leaders of the people find grace and wisdom to seek once 

16 



INTRODUCTION 

more the pure well of moral philosophy from which the 
early sages drew their sweetness and their light. 

Amongst such morals and conclusions as the reader may 
draw from study of these three centuries of Chinese history, 
one of the most obvious is to be found in the persistent 
coincidence of periods of demoralisation in the State 
with the ascendancy of eunuchs at Court. The Chinese 
have always realised the truth of this matter; scholars, 
historians and moralists never fail to declare that the 
Empire's crisis of private corruption and public disorder, 
the decline and fall of dynasties, have been caused or 
greatly hastened by the interference and intrigues of these 
Court menials in affairs of State. The first Manchu 
rulers perceived clearly the evils of a eunuch-ridden 
Court, and took wise precautions against them. In the 
fate of the Mings, the lesson was writ plain for them to 
learn, adding one more to the many warnings of history 
against the insidious dangers of the Court's excessive 
polygamy and the atmosphere of debauchery and enerva- 
tion thereby created. They could see for themselves 
to what a pitiful state the Throne and Court had been 
brought by the tyrannous cruelty, treachery and greed 
of the eunuchs who infested the Forbidden City and 
projected the " poisonous miasma " of their influence to 
the farthest frontiers of the Empire. It is noteworthy 
that, amongst the many emasculated Palace officials who 
rose to place and power under the Mings and again under 
the latter Manchus, few displayed the fidelity and the 
civic virtues which seem to have distinguished those of 
the Court of Babylon, or those which Herodotus attributes 
to the eunuch magnates of Persia. Fidelity to the person 
of the Emperor we find, indeed (though none too fre- 
quently), combined with literary and histrionic talents 
of a high order and great intellectual vigour; but the 
history of China, during the period with which we are 
dealing, produces no eunuch general or statesman com- 
c 17 



INTRODUCTION 

parable to that Hermias, Governor of Atarnea, to whose 
manes Aristotle offered sacrifice and sincere reverence. 

If we compare the condition of China's civil service and 
military organisation of to-day with that which obtained 
in the reign of Ch'ien Lung, we are compelled to seek 
for specific causes to account for so complete a demoralisa- 
tion of the ruling caste and so swift decay of the nation's 
civic and patriotic instincts. A century and a half ago, 
Chinese armies, organised under the rigorous military 
system of the Manchus, w^re steadily fighting one success- 
ful war after another, thereby extending the frontiers 
of the Empire and the benefits of its well-ordered adminis- 
tration to independent Tartary, Thibet, Nepal, Burmah 
and Sungaria. Studying the history of this great Monarch's 
long reign, and that of his immediate successors, we per- 
ceive that the chief cause of the swift decline and fall of 
the Manchu power, and of the consequent demoralisation 
of the whole system of government, lay (as Tzu Hsi 
admitted on her deathbed) in the corruption of public 
and private morals which set in, so soon as the " rats and 
foxes " of the Court were permitted to interfere in affairs 
of State. So long as the Palace eunuchs were kept in 
the place wisely assigned to them by Shun Chih, and de- 
barred from all high offices, the Court retained its virile 
dignity and the public service its efficiency. The luxury^^ 
nepotism and venality introduced during the regime of 
Ch'ien Lung's favourite, the Grand Secretary, Ho Shen, 
restored to the Palace eunuchs opportunities which they 
had not enjoyed since the overthrow of the Ming dynasty. 
Fifty years later, their ascendancy at Court was com- 
pletely established. Henceforward, they were able to 
exercise once more their traditional functions as the 
tempters of youth, the debauchers of age, in the profound 
seclusion of the Forbidden City, until gradually the Son 
of Heaven on his Throne became a defenceless puppet in 
their supple bloodstained hands. Steep is the ascent 

18 



INTRODUCTION 

ofj01yTQp.uSj rapid the descent to Avernus ; the structural 
character of a people moves onward and upward only 
by slow processes of evolution, but its destruction is often 
brought about by swift and direct factory of demoralisa- 
tion. Seldom is this truth thrown into relief so clear as 
that in which we see it against the background of China's 
history, during the periods immediately preceding the 
downfall of the Ming and Manchu dynasties. 



19 



PART I 
THE MING DYNASTY 



CHAPTER I 

A CHINESE HAROUN AL RASCHID 

When, in 1368, Chu Yiian-chang, Buddhist priest, 
administrator and fighter, estabhshed the Ming dynasty 
by his successful rebeUion against the degenerate descend- 
ants of Kublai Khan, and thus shattered the last remnants 
of the great Mongol Empire, he laid down certain principles 
for the government of China which proved him to be a 
statesman of the first order. He realised clearly that 
the rulers of the Celestial Empire must govern rather by 
moral than material force, and that the consent of the 
governed will always be withdrawn from those who lack 
the moral qualities which the people reverence and expect 
in their rulers. During his reign and that of his illustrious 
nephew, Yung Lo, literature, education, arts, industries 
and commerce were systematically encouraged, with 
results that conferred great glory on the dynasty and 
prosperity on the people. The founder of the great Ming 
dynasty, whose throne was established by the sword, 
knew that the pen is a mightier weapon against the 
vicissitudes of Time — by its aid he hoped to revive a 
patriotic spirit and the instincts of nationalism, long dor- 
mant in the Chinese people. He therefore reorganised the 
whole system of the public service and competitive exami- 
nations, revised the penal code, regulated taxation, and 
introduced a national currency. More important than all, 
as has since been repeatedly proved, he forbade the oificial 
employment of eunuchs at the capital. 

23 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

In subsequent chapters, dealing with the decHne and 
fall of the Ming dynasty, the rebellion of Li Tzu-ch'eng, 
and the establishment of the Manchu power, the reader 
will perceive that the Ming rulers' failure to observe this 
fundamental principle of government (upon which the 
great Tzu Hsi insisted as she lay dying in 1908) was 
the chief cause of their final overthrow and of countless 
calamities to the nation at large. It was in the year 
1430, that the Emperor Hsiian Tsung, grandson of Yung 
Lo, adopted the well-meant but disastrous course of 
raising the status of the Palace menials, and giving them 
the advantages of a first- class literary education. During 
the reign of his successor, the power of the eunuchs and 
their interference in affairs of State steadily increased, and 
from this time the decline of the great Ming dynasty may 
be said to have commenced. 

Before proceeding to describe, from contemporary annals 
and State papers, the dark days of anarchy and bloodshed 
which preceded the subjugation of China by the Manchus, 
let us narrate the following episodes from the life of the 
Ming Emperor Chang Te, who reigned from 1506 to 1522. 
The story is taken from a contemporary memoir, now 
very scarce; it throws instructive light on the life and 
manners of the Court of those days, before the energies of 
the Mings had been sapped to the extent of making the 
Emperor little better than a puppet in his gilded prison 
of the Forbidden City. 

The Emperor Chang Te (a reign title, meaning " Ortho- 
dox Virtue ") is described by Chinese historians as a 
sensual and thriftless monarch. He may have been ; but 
he would seem at least to have been superior to many 
of his successors in possessing a will of his own, a sense 
of humour, a taste for adventure, and other redeeming 
qualities, as shown by the following incidents of his reign. 

In the year 1508, the graduate- doctors of the lowest 
degree, or Hanlin bachelors, were undergoing a test exami- 

24 




Portrait of a Chinese Official. By Wu Tao-tzu (Eighth Century). 
{From the collsction of Charles L. Freer, Esq. at Detroit.) 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

nation before a Commission in the Palace to qualify 
for metropolitan or provincial posts. The Emperor him- 
self was present and took an active part in the examination. 

One of the candidates, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, 
named Lin Chi-shih, a native of Fuhkien Province, was 
addicted to the use of arbitrary or archaic forms in the 
writing of characters. When the essays were handed in, 
His Majesty objected to Lin's style of writing and asked 
what was his authority for such affectations. Lin replied 
that they were archaisms. At this, the Emperor wrote 
out a spurious character of his own invention and asked 
him to give it a name. Lin said he did not know it, 
whereupon His Majesty observed : "If one character 
may be written topsy-turvy, why not another? You 
are evidently not a scholar of the standard required in 
the Hanlin Academy. I order that you return to your 
native place to study for three years, at the end of which 
time you may come to Peking and compete again at the 
examinations." 

Lin thanked the Emperor and withdrew. His friends 
and relations all looked upon him as a victim of Imperial 
displeasure, and refused to have any further dealings with 
him. Being very poor, he could not afford to pay 
the cost of the journey back to Fuhkien, and no official 
in Peking would give him employment as tutor, owing to 
his having incurred Imperial censure. He therefore pro- 
ceeded to earn his livelihood by writing scrolls at a stand 
in the street just outside the Ch'ien Men, the main gate 
of the Tartar city, leading to the Palace. 

As his writing was admirable, he attracted much atten- 
tion from literary men. One day, about a year later, 
the Emperor, walking about as he loved to do, incognito, 
was passing the scribe's stand, when his curiosity was 
aroused by the large crowd of scholars, who were pressing 
round and uttering admiring comments. 

Anxious to learn the cause of the commotion, the 

25 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Emperor made his way through the crowd and observed 
a young man wielding his pen with extraordinary rapidity 
and skill. His caligraphy and the style of his composition 
showed plainly that he was a master of the literary language, 
and the Emperor (no bad judge) was delighted with 
his work. He had forgotten the man's face, being at 
that time completely absorbed in the charms of the 
latest favourite in his harem. 

So, coming nearer, he said to the writer : "I perceive 
that your caligraphy and composition are alike excellent; 
why do you not compete at the examinations, instead 
of wasting your talents in this humble occupation? " 
Lin looked up and failed to recognise His Majesty, but 
perceived at once that it was no common person who thus 
addressed him; so, rising from his place, he bowed low 
and invited him to be seated. " My name," said he, " is 
Lin : I, all unworthy, passed for the Hanlin Bachelor- 
ship." The Emperor replied : " It is not fitting that a 
member of so honourable a body as the Hanlin Academy 
should engage in what is really a form of street hawking." 
" At the Court examination held last year for conferring 
official appointments upon Hanlin bachelors," said Lin, 
" I failed to recognise a character written by His 
Majesty, and was by him commanded to return home to 
Fuhkien and study." " Why, then, have you disobeyed 
the order and remained in the capital?" "Because," 
said Lin, " I come of a very poor family and could not 
afford to pay for my journey home. My present employ- 
ment was the only livelihood left to me." The Emperor 
asked why he did not seek a position as tutor. Lin 
answered : " All the world knows that I am in disgrace, 
and so no one dares engage my services." The Emperor 
then said : "I will recommend you for a post as secretary 
in a neighbouring province, which will at least be an 
improvement on your present vocation." 

Lin gratefully bowed his thanks and asked the Emperor's 

2a 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

title and address, in order that he might call and return 
thanks for his kindness. " Never mind that," said His 
Majesty, " wait here to-morrow for a messenger from me." 
With that he turned away. None of the spectators had 
recognised him, though all were surprised at his kindness 
to Lin. Next day, a eunuch from the Palace arrived 
bearing a sealed yellow envelope and a hundred taels. 
These he handed to Lin, saying : " Yesterday an official 
personage told me to hand these to you, sir, and to direct 
you to follow the instructions written on this envelope. 
On no account are you to open it, lest evil befall you. 
This money is for your travelling expenses." The eunuch 
then took his departure, leaving no name. Lin examined 
the envelope and read the inscription writ large : "To 
be delivered in person to the Governor of Shantung and 
to be opened by him." 

Lin joyfully closed his stand, hired a cart and proceeded 
with his former servant to Chi-nan fu. At that time the 
substantive post of Governor was vacant, and was tem- 
porarily filled by the Treasurer. Arrived at the provincial 
capital, Lin took up his quarters at an inn, changed his 
clothes and proceeded with his servant to the Governor's 
yamen. The Acting Governor had a high reputation as 
an honest official and a strict disciplinarian; his under- 
lings dared not accept bribes, so it was no easy matter 
togainaccess to his presence. For three days in succession 
Lin tried unsuccessfully to send in his card, and at last 
said reproachfully to one of the gate-keepers : "I have 
a secret message from Peking which I must deliver in 
person. Why do you obstruct me like this ? " The 
underling then informed the official in charge of the gate, 
who ordered Lin to approach, but, on observing his 
somewhat common raiment, came to the conclusion that 
he was merely a suppliant for favour. Therefore he shook 
his head contemptuously, saying : " My master is Acting 
Governor of this province and far too busy to see any 

27 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

former friend of his less prosperous days. Any letter 
you may have for him I will deliver ; meanwhile, get you 
to your lodging and wait until you hear from me." Lin 
was obliged to hand him the yellow envelope and went 
sorrowfully back to the inn. 

Scarcely had he reached his room, when the landlord 
came rushing in and made obeisance before him. " I 
did not recognise Your Excellency," he said, " and have 
failed in respect to your attendants. I deserve to die a 
thousand deaths." Indignantly Lin answered : " "Why 
do you mock my poverty ? " The landlord was about 
to explain, when a great commotion was heard outside 
the inn ; gongs were beaten and crackers fired. An aide- 
de-camp from the Governor had arrived, attended by a large 
retinue, and was kneeling reverently at the inn door. When 
the ceremony was completed, he rose and addressed Lin : 
" The provincial Treasurer bids us invite Your Excellencj'^ 
the Imperial Commissioner to proceed to his office." 

Lin, completely dumbfoundered, felt as if he were 
walking on air. However, he was assisted, almost by 
force, into a sedan-chair borne by eight men. Preceded 
by a long line of insignia bearers and followed by troops 
of horsemen, he was carried into the yamen, just outside 
the main hall of audience. Here, the provincial Treasurer 
(that was Acting Governor) was awaiting him in full dress. 
Alighting from the sedan he observed an altar upon which 
incense was burning ; on it lay the yellow envelope which 
had been entrusted to him for delivery. The Treasurer 
knelt before the altar and saluted His Sacred Majesty's 
communication; then, bowing to Lin, he said: "Will 
Your Excellency the Imperial Commissioner be pleased 
to read aloud the sacred decree?" Lin opened the 
envelope and read: "The Governorship of Shantung 
is at present vacant. We command Lin Chi-shih to act 
as Governor." Realising that it was the Emperor himself 
who had befriended him, he kotowed nine times in the 

28 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

direction of the Forbidden City. The Treasurer then 
came forward with his congratulations, apologising for 
not having met him at some distance from the city. So 
Lin became Governor of Shantung and, as in duty bound, 
drafted a memorial of thanks to His Majesty and requested 
an audience. Not long after he received the Imperial 
rescript : " We saw that you possessed capacity and we 
therefore conferred this appointment upon you. Do your 
duty diligently in all things, so as to do credit to Our 
choice. In three years' time return to Peking and give 
an account of your Governorship." 

At the expiry of the appointed time Lin returned to the 
capital and had audience with the Emperor, who said : 
" You have now acquired a literary efficiency : we 
appoint you Hanlin compiler. Study three years more 
at the Academy, and we shall then see what higher 
appointment you may deserve." 

On another occasion, the Emperor entered the quarters 
in the Palace where the Grand Secretaries were wont to 
transact business after audience, and found all the officials 
there assembled at breakfast. They rose at his entrance, 
and the Emperor said : " Come all of you to my private 
apartments, after you have finished, that we may talk." 
In due course they joined His Majesty, who bade them be 
seated. "You have all been eating rice," said he; "do 
you know anything about the method of its cultivation 
and the difficulty of producing a crop ? Before I succeeded 
to the Throne, I used to fancy that cereals were produced 
like weeds, that they grew of themselves without any 
trouble being bestowed on them. However, now that I 
often roam about the country and have seen with my own 
eyes the hardships which the peasants endure, I realise 
the truth of the old saying : ' Every grain of the rice 
on your plate is won by the sweat of the brow.' You, 
my ministers, come from various parts of the Empire, 

29 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

and the customs of North and South differ greatly* I 
desire now to extend my knowledge, and I therefore request 
that each of you will state fully for my information the 
methods of sowing, weeding and harvesting rice in your 
respective parts of the Empire." It so happened that 
most of the Ministers of the day had begun life as farmers' 
sons and peasants, so they were able to supply the Emperor 
with the information he desired. But there was one 
president of a Board, by name Chang Chin, of an ancient 
and aristocratic family, who was quite ignorant of the 
subject. To him His Majesty scornfully said : " How 
can you perform the functions of your office if you are 
so grossly ignorant about the production of the very food 
you eat? Can you possibly attend to the daily business 
of your Board without committing some serious blunder 
or dereliction of duty ? " 

The President was so much alarmed that he could only 
kotow, and then in his confusion he mumbled : " I am 
Chief of the Ministry of Civil Appointments ; this morning 
I attended office, and the last business we dealt with was 
the filling of a vacancy in Kiangsu Province for the post 
of Deputy Assistant District Magistrate (the lowest post 
in the Empire carrying official rank). My ministry has 
the right to nominate for this post on this occasion, as on 
the last occasion the Governor of the Province conferred 
the appointment." ^ 

His Majesty roared with laughter : " Is this wretched 
piece of routine business all you can cite in answer to my 
question? " With that he shook his sleeve, dismissing 
the ministers. The President's colleagues asked him why 
he had made such a stupid reply. " I was so greatly 
bewildered," said he, " that my mind refused to think of 
anything else." 

^ Posts below a certain rank in the provinces are filled alternately 
on the invitation of the Peking Ministry and of the provincial 
authorities. 

30 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

A few days later a decree was issued : " The post of 
Deputy Assistant District Magistrate at T'ai-hu in Kiangsu 
is hereby given to President Chang Chin ! " On reading 
the decree he was greatly distressed. Turning to his 
colleagues, he said : " What can it mean and what shall 
I do ? The lowest post in the official list is given me ; 
naturally I must proceed to take up my new duties, but 
would it be right for me to ask for a farewell audience 
before leaving Peking? " His colleagues, greatly tickled 
at the Imperial jest, replied : " What right has an official 
of the lowest rank to demand an audience ? All you can 
do is to prostrate yourself at the Gate of Mid-day,^ and 
thank His Majesty. There they will give you the warrant 
authorising you to take over the post. But as the decree 
says nothing about your being cashiered or reduced in 
rank, you will have to go on wearing your first-class button 
and official robes." 

On arrival at the provincial capital, he found the Gover- 
nor and all the local officials awaiting to greet him in the 
suburbs as a mark of respect. But he begged them to 
desist and go home, while he proceeded on foot to pay his 
respects to the various officials, presenting to each his 
visiting card, drawn up in the humblest form like that of a 
petitioner. This made all the officials rather uncomfort- 
able, as he was superior in rank to them all, so they begged 
him to remain in residence at the provincial capital and 
not to trouble about taking up his post. He replied : 
"How dare I disobey the Imperial mandate? I shall 
proceed thither on the first auspicious day." Thereupon 
the Prefect and Magistrate of T'ai-hu decided in all haste 
to decorate and alter his official residence, so as to make it 
resemble as closely as possible, and so far as size would 
allow, the yamen of a governor. Outside they mustered 
a great number of lictors and runners, with a forest of 

1 The southern gate of the Forbidden City. 
31 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

insignia and bands of musicians, and they placed chevaux 
de jrise in front of the main entrance. 

On his arrival, the President-Magistrate observed that 
his new residence was surrounded on three sides by rice- 
fields, and thus it came to him that His Majesty desired 
him to learn by practical experience the hardships of a 
farmer's life. So he dismissed all his underlings and 
retinue, and thereafter made it his daily business to go, 
simply dressed, amongst the people, visiting the adjoining 
villages and chatting with the elders concerning the 
condition of the peasantry. He made careful study of 
their grievances, and took note of wrongs that might 
be put right. Five years he lived amongst them, acting 
as mediator and arbitrator in their disputes, so that he 
earned the respect of all men and their goodwill. 

When, in 1519, Prince Ning, a kinsman of the Emperor, 
rebelled. His Majesty came South in person to chastise 
him, and arrived in due course at Soochow, the provincial 
capital of Kiangsu Province. The ex-President, hearing 
of his impending arrival, hurried to Soochow and said to 
the Governor : " I who have held one of the highest posts 
in the Empire am in duty bound to wait upon His Majesty 
when he arrives here, but official etiquette forbids that 
one who holds so humble a post as that of Deputy Assist- 
ant District Magistrate should proceed to the provincial 
capital and absent himself from his duties. What do you 
advise me to do ? " 

The Governor and his colleagues replied : " As regards 
official duties you are, it is true, our subordinate, but in 
rank you are our superior. You should, therefore, go to 
meet His Majesty, wearing your robes and insignia of the 
highest rank, but you should take up a position in our 
rear." To this the President agreed. As the Imperial 
cortege drew near. His Majesty, who was on horseback, 
recognised him from a distance, and bade him approach. 
" Do you now understand," said he, " the hardships of a 

32 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

farmer's life ? " The President kotowed and thanked the 
Emperor for the lesson he had given him. His Majesty 
bade him join the Imperial party at the travelling lodge, 
and there questioned him concerning the fulfilment of 
his charge. The President gave him full details of the 
various reforms he had initiated, which so pleased His 
Majesty that he promoted him to a rank even higher 
than that which he had previously enjoyed, namely, to be 
Assistant Grand Secretary. 

During this same expedition against Prince Ning, while 
the Imperial barge was moored one day at Ch'ing-ho on 
the Grand Canal, in Kiangsu, His Majesty went incognito 
and afoot to an adjacent teashop, desiring to hear some- 
thing of the local gossip. As he sat there, he heard many 
grievous complaints concerning the squeezing and bare- 
faced robbery which travellers were suffering at the hands 
of certain military officers and their underlings. Every 
boat passing up and down the canal at this point, whether 
laden with merchandise or personal baggage, was liable 
to detention until it paid their extortionate charges, and 
if the " squeeze " was not promptly forthcoming, all the 
contents of the boat were confiscated and the boat itself 
often smashed to pieces. Travellers and traders were 
loud in their helpless wrath at this state of affairs, and 
many expressed their hope that the rebel prince would 
defeat the Imperialist forces, for any change must be for 
the better. 

The Emperor made up his mind to look into these 
matters for himself, so he bought a small boat, dressed 
himself as a trader, and with only one body- servant and 
a young eunuch, proceeded down the canal. On reaching 
the Customs station which lies outside the important 
city of Yang Chou-fu, close to the Yangtsze, the Emperor 
saw hundreds of boats drawn up in rows, which were being 
searched by the river police and petty Customs officers. 
D 33 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

A large Customs barge was moored to the bank where the 
tolls were fixed and protests heard. From each boat 
heavy payment was being exacted in the name of the 
Emperor and ostensibly for the purpose of providing funds 
to suppress the rebellion. All the merchants meekly paid 
"squeeze" to the underlings, who were rapidly making 
their fortunes. When the time came for the Emperor's 
boat to be searched, His Majesty lay prone in the stern 
and when summoned to rise paid no attention. The 
runners, therefore, seized him roughly and brought him to 
the Customs barge, where he saw an official in full robes 
surrounded by lictors and seated at a table, as if he were 
presiding at a court. As the Emperor approached, this 
official began angrily to upbraid him : " What manner of 
man are you who dare interfere with His Majesty's ser- 
vants in the execution of their duty? Has the law no 
terrors for you ? do you not fear the heavier bamboo ? " 
At this the Emperor smiled contemptuously, so the official 
bade his lictors strip him and apply the heavy bamboo 
to his person. Happily His Majesty's body-servant was 
a particularly lusty fellow, and he succeeded in putting 
fear into the myrmidons for the time being, so that the 
Emperor suffered no insult. But the official grew angrier 
than ever. He shouted : " This is evidently some notori- 
ous river pirate or cut- throat. Go and arrest his boatman." 
They did so, and flogged him cruelly to make him confess 
that he knew the Emperor to be a robber. 

Meanwhile, His Majesty had drawn from his breast a 
tablet of jade and told the eunuch to take it to the Lieu- 
tenant-Governor of the province (who at that time resided 
at Yang Chou) and bid him come quickly. Very soon, in 
obedience to the Imperial command, the Governor came 
hurrying up in a panic of nervous fear. On seeing him 
approach, the Customs official knelt at the gangway to 
receive him, and was just beginning to tell him how he had 
captured a notorious pirate, when the Governor perceived 

34 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the Emperor standing near the main mast. Reverently 
he fell upon his knees, and prostrated himself in the dust, 
imploring forgiveness. 

The Emperor remained silent, but made signs to his 
body-servant to remove the offending official's hat and 
button. These he presented to the boatman, who thus 
attained to official rank. Said he : " This hat is to com- 
pensate you for the pain you have suffered." Next he 
ordered that the official be arrested and made to disgorge 
his ill-gotten gains, after which he was duly decapitated. 
All the higher officials of the town were punished for having 
failed to put a stop to these exactions, and from this time 
forward the boats of travellers were allowed to pass in peace. 

On the last night of the year after the Emperor's return 
to Peking from the expedition against Prince Ning, he 
left the Forbidden City to make a round of the various 
government offices, for he knew that they would then be 
practically deserted, as the officials would be seeing the old 
year out at their own homes. But when he reached the 
Board of Appointments (Li pu) he heard sounds of cheerful 
song proceeding from the main hall, as if a large party of 
revellers were gathered together. The song was of the 
South. 

The Emperor entered and, to his astonishment, found 
only one petty official, who was singing to himself, with a 
plate of meat before him and a wine-kettle. This man rose 
as the visitor entered, and politely offering him a seat, 
proffered a cup of wine. The Emperor asked him : 
" What is your official rank and why are you here all 
alone ? " He replied : " I am a native of Chekiang and 
am on duty at this Board as a clerk. The seals being- 
locked up for the New Year holiday, all the officials are 
away at their homes, drinking and feasting with their 
families. I thought it wrong and dangerous that such a 
mass of official documents and archives should remain 

35 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

unguarded, so I have remained here on watch and will 
not desert my post." The Monarch said : " Very good. I 
shall see you to-morrow." With that he departed, the 
clerk attended him to the door, and then resumed his 
solitary vigil. 

Next morning, when the whole Court and the chief 
metropolitan officials proceeded to the main Palace hall 
to offer their New Year congratulations, the Emperor 
turned to the President of the Board of Appointments 
(the same man who had just returned from learning the 
hardships of a farmer's life in the T'ai hu magistracy), 
and asked : " What is the name of the clerk who was on 
watch at your Board last night? Let him attend our 
audience at once." 

The President promptly dispatched a Board secretary 
to command the clerk's presence. So he came to the 
Throne Hall, and after making the nine obeisances, looked 
up and perceived in the Emperor his guest of the previous 
evening. He trembled all over, but His Majesty reassured 
him. "Be not alarmed. Your diligent performance of 
duty and faithfulness to the trust imposed upon you, are 
worthy of the highest praise. What is the highest pro- 
motion to which you would be entitled at the end of your 
present term of office ? " The clerk answered : " If my 
conduct has been ' blameless for five years and no black 
marks are recorded against me, the most I could expect 
would be to be eligible for selection as an official of the 
secondary ninth rank."^ His Majesty said : " What post 
do you covet? " " What your unworthy servant covets 
is the post of Deputy Assistant District Magistrate at 
T'ai hu in Kiangsu, because it has been temporarily held 
of late by the President of my Board. It would be an 
extraordinary honour to obtain it, because recent events 
have caused it to loom large in the public eye. But as my 

1 This is the lowest rank entitling the holder to be classed as an 
" official." 

36 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

time of duty at my present post is still unexpired, it would 
be contrary to precedent." 

His Majesty smiled : " If we command you to proceed, 
what has precedent to do with the case ? " The clerk, 
overcome with joy, exclaimed : " Wan Sui ! " (Ten thousand 
years) " May Your Majesty live for ever ! " So the Emperor 
bade the President prepare the necessary papers and 
arrange for the clerk's immediate departure to take up 
his new post. 

In 1517, the Emperor, whose eccentricities and excur- 
sions were the despair of the Court, took it upon himself to 
proceed incognito to Hsiian-Hua fu (about 120 miles 
north of Peking). The fairest damsel in that city was 
" Sister Phoenix," then in her seventeenth year; she was 
the daughter of a wine-distiller named Li, and she kept 
his shop. One day, when her father was out, the Emperor, 
passing by on one of his walks, observed her dazzling 
and queenly beauty. At the charm of a glance, sufficient 
of itself to overthrow a kingdom. His Majesty felt as if 
he were losing control of his senses. He entered and called 
for wine. The maiden brought it, and the Emperor, 
supposing her to be an ordinary courtesan, seized her in 
his arms and bore her to the inner chamber. She was 
shouting for help, when His Majesty placed his hand over 
her mouth and said : " We are the Son of Heaven. Trust 
yourself to Us, and wealth and power are yours from this 
day forward." 

Now it so happened that Sister Phoenix had recently 
dreamed more than once that she was changed into a 
white pearl and carried off by a divine dragon. But 
there the dream had always stopped. She now under- 
stood its meaning, and believing the Emperor's word, 
submitted to his august wishes. His Majesty was en- 
raptured to know that she was no courtesan, but a 
pure maiden. 

37 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

When, in response to her first cry for help, her father 
had come upon the scene, he found the door fast bolted, 
and as her cries had ceased he believed that his beloved 
daughter had been the victim of a cruel outrage. He ran, 
therefore, to summon the guard; but as they came 
rushing up the Emperor opened the door and came out. 
He revealed his identity to the excited Li, whereupon 
all present made humble obeisance. His Majesty then 
bade them conduct Sister Phoenix to the quarters 
occupied by his concubines. To her father he gave a 
thousand ounces of gold and raised him to the rank of 
a high official. It was his wish to bestow upon Sister 
Phoenix the rank of an Imperial Concubine of the second 
grade, were she so inclined. Humbly she declined the 
honour. " Your maidservant," said she, " has but a 
little measure of good fortune to expect : she is not long 
for this world. Were I to accept the rank which Your 
Majesty's divine goodness would bestow upon me, it 
would hasten my death. Have I not had the im- 
measurable honour of finding favour in the sight of the 
' World Honoured One ' ? Is not that a sufficient reward 
for my humble merits ? In all humility I would beseech 
Your Majesty to consider your duty to your people and 
to return speedily to the capital. By so doing you will 
give me far greater 'happiness than by conferring honours 
upon me." 

The Emperor realised that her simple peasant's attire 
served only to enhance her radiant beauty, and so he did 
not urge her to exchange it for the robes of a concubine. 
She was ever at his side in those days, serving him at table 
and sharing his couch. But she never ceased to beg him 
to return to Peking, and at last, won by her gentle 
entreaties, he consented to fix the day for his departure. 

Sister Phoenix travelled by his side until the cortege 
reached the Great Wall (forty miles from Peking). Here 
a terrible storm broke upon them, and the party took 

38 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

shelter at a house just inside the gate of Chii-Yung kuan. 
Suddenly Sister Phoenix saw that the images of the Four 
Heavenly Kings, or Defenders of Buddhism, which stand 
guarding the entrance, seemed to be endowed with life, 
and that they turned angry glances in her direction. At 
the sight she fainted and fell to the ground. Gently the 
Emperor raised her and had her borne to a temple outside 
the barrier. He watched by her bedside until she re- 
covered consciousness, when she said : " Your handmaid 
knew full well that she was not destined long to enjoy the 
sweets of life, or to wait upon Your Majesty in the For- 
bidden City. Let me now leave you and return to my 
home." The Emperor answered : "I cannot grant 
that prayer, for I would rather abandon my Empire 
than be deprived of your sweet and gracious person." 
Sadly she gazed at him, and then, Avith a deep sigh, 
expired. 

His Majesty mourned long and deeply over the death 
of his favourite, and commanded that she be buried with 
Imperial honours at the summit of the pass. So they 
built a huge mound of yellow earth over her tomb, but, to 
the amazement of all, in one night the yellow earth became 
white; so powerful her virtuous will, even after death. 
The Emperor pondered long over her advice concerning 
his duty to attend to State affairs. Said he : "If even a 
maiden could realise the responsibility of the head of the 
State towards his people, surely I should profit by her 
advice." With that he returned straightway to Peking. 
The historians record that the Emperor had paid no heed 
to the repeated entreaties of his officials, that he should 
be pleased to leave Hsiian-Hua and resume his place at 
the capital : how strange, they say, that a humble peasant 
girl should have been able to persuade him to return to 
the path of duty ! Is it not an example of what the 
Canon of History calls " The softness of the feminine 
nature overcoming a strong man's will " ? 

39 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

In the year 1508 the triennial autumn examination 
took place in Peking for the Masters' degree. As usual, 
thousands of scholars from all parts of the provinces had 
assembled in the metropolis. The soothsayers and fortune- 
tellers were all busily plying their trade in booths just 
outside the Ch'ien Men; one of them attracted particular 
attention by proclaiming, in a well- written notice exhibited 
outside his booth, that he challenged comparison with the 
most famous magicians known to history. He boasted 
that he could tell at once the rank and antecedents of 
any official who might come to him incognito, and that he 
had never made a mistake. As the days went by his 
fame increased, and there was always a crowd around his 
booth. Soon His Majesty came to hear of him, and 
passing by his booth one day, joined the crowd and watched 
him at his trade. The time was 11 a.m. on the 8th day 
of the 8th moon. Suddenly there was noise and com- 
motion. The crowd swayed and parted, and through it 
there came rushing a scholar who seized hold of the fortune- 
teller and shouted : " You have ruined my career for good 
and all. Either you or I shall die for it." The spectators 
tried to separate the combatants, but without success. 
The Emperor motioned to his attendant, a man of power- 
ful physique, to separate them, and proceeded to inquire 
what all the excitehient was about. 

The soothsayer replied : "A few days ago this man 
came here to consult me with regard to his prospects in 
the impending examination, and I promised that he would 
win the first place. Now, having failed to take his place 
in the examination hall, he comes here forsooth and blames 
me for his own unpunctuality. Much learning has made 
him mad." 

At this, the scholar broke in and said : " Because you 
foretold that I should come out at the head of the list, my 
friends gave me a banquet, at which I became very drunk. 
When at last my servant managed to arouse me, I got up 

40 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

and hurried to the examination hall, but the gates were 
already barred.^ Did you ever hear of a non-competitor 
coming out at the head of the list ? Are you not, then, the 
sole cause of my undoing? " 

The two men continued loudly disputing, until the 
Emperor said to the soothsayer : " Cease your brawling ! 
Supposing I get this scholar admitted to the examination 
hall and he fails to come out at the head of the list, to what 
punishment will you submit? " 

The soothsayer replied : " You may gouge out one eye." 
" All right," said the Emperor, " that's a bargain." He 
then took up pen and paper from the table, wrote a few 
words, and sealed the document with a small seal which 
he wore at his girdle. He then bade his attendant go 
with the scholar and deliver the paper. To the sooth- 
sayer he said, " Farewell : I shall return in a fortnight 
to prove your words." The soothsayer guessed that 
it was the Emperor, and promptly folded his tent and 
departed. 

Meantime, the attendant and the scholar proceeded 
to the examination hall, some two miles away. The Im- 
perial messenger then commanded the drums to be beaten, 
as a signal that he was the bearer of a decree from His 
Sacred Majesty. The seals upon the gates were speedily 
removed and the locks opened, whereupon the officials 
on duty outside the hall sounded a gong. This brought 
an usher from within, who escorted the attendant and the 
scholar up to the main hall, where the Imperial examiners 
were seated. As the Imperial messenger approached 
they all knelt : he strode to the dais and there, facing 
South, read the decree. Having done so he left to report 
the fulfilment of his mission. 

A censor and an inspector then conducted the scholar 

^ A competitor was excluded from participation once the gates 
had been closed, as they could not be re-opened until after the 
examination. 

41 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

to one of the vacant cells. Examiners and candidates 
alike marvelled that the Emperor should thus send a 
protege of his to take part in the examination. Naturally, 
the chief examiners paid particular attention to his papers, 
and finding that his composition was quite good and his 
principles sound, they said one to another : " This candi- 
date having been specially recommended by the present 
occupant of the Throne, it would be disrespectful to His 
Majesty if we were to place any other name ahead of his on 
the class lists." So they passed him at the top of his year, 
and in reporting the fact to the Emperor, warmly praised 
the excellence of his style and his exceptional gifts. They 
seized the occasion to congratulate the Emperor on being 
so good a judge of talent. 

The Emperor laughed loudly : " This is surely Fate," 
said he. As a matter of fact he had originally intended 
that the scholar should be ploughed, in order that he 
might triumph over the soothsayer, but, as luck would 
have it, he had been so much engrossed in dalliance with 
the latest favourite of his harem, that the whole thing had 
escaped his memory, and he had forgotten to send word to 
the chief examiner. Now that the scholar had come out 
at the head of the list, he was deeply impressed with the 
soothsayer's prophetic skill and desired to engage his 
services for the Court. So, after sending messengers in 
vain, he set out in state, at the head of a large retinue, to 
look for him; but the soothsayer had vanished and was 
never seen again. 

Early one spring morning, the Emperor had just left 
the harem, and was taking a drive in the city before holding 
his daily audience in the Palace, when he met a bridal 
procession on its way to the bridegroom's house. The 
insignia were borne by an army of attendants, and the 
magnificence of the equipages and of the escort showed that 
the bridegroom was of a distinguished family. Much 

42 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

impressed, the Emperor stopped his cart and, standing by 
the roadside, watched the long cavalcade go by. Just as 
the bride's chair drew near, he saw a black giant, twenty 
feet high, standing in front of it as if to bar her way. His 
features were cruel and repulsive in the extreme; he was 
clad in armour and wielded a huge club. Insolently he 
stood there, until suddenly he perceived the Emperor, 
when he seemed to hesitate, and finally hurried away to 
the head of the cortege. The Emperor's cart- driver 
had seen nothing of this monstrous apparition. Greatly 
wondering. His Majesty bade the man drive on, following 
in rear of the procession, until they came to the bride- 
groom's house, which he perceived to be the stately mansion 
of some ancient and respected family. The Emperor 
alighted and went in towards the main hall. The black 
giant had preceded the bride's chair and was standing 
in the courtyard, but when he saw the Son of Heaven 
approach, he covered his face and vanished. His Majesty 
then remembered that this particular day was unlucky, 
owing to the power therein of the Spirit of Disaster; no 
doubt it was this spirit which had so strangely crossed his 
path. He thought that whoever had chosen such an 
unlucky day for a marriage was greatly to blame, and 
determined to find out who was responsible for so 
disastrous a selection. 

So he waited, while the bride descended from her chair 
and the newly wedded pair made obeisance to heaven and 
earth in the inner chamber. After the bride had been 
duly conducted to the nuptial apartment the banquet was 
served, and the host came forward to invite the wedding 
guests to take their seats. In all sixteen tables were 
prepared, and the guests sat down in their order of seniority 
and precedence. The host could see that the Emperor 
was no ordinary visitor, so invited him to the seat of honour 
at the central table, and himself came and sat beside him. 
As he did so, his limbs trembled as if he were in the 

43 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

presence of some divine being ; he dared not even ask his 
guest's honourable name. 

The Emperor asked him who the person was who had 
selected this day for the wedding. The host pointed to 
a venerable man at the second table, and said : " He was 
formerly a director at the Court of Astronomy, now 
retired. He is a past master of his art ; any family wishing 
to fijc a date for an auspicious event invariably secures 
his services. He has never yet been known to fail." 

" Ask him to come here," said the Emperor, who thus 
addressed the astrologer : "I am told that you are an 
expert in selecting auspicious days. What made you 
invoke disaster to-day by your cabalistic arts ? " The 
old man replied : " Not so : it is quite true that between 
the hours of three and five this morning the black Spirit of 
Disaster, the so-called ' Ruler of the Evil Stars,' was due 
to descend into the world, but at the same hour the 
Fortunate Star of Good Omen was also destined to appear 
among mortals. His benign influence routed the forces 
of evil, and has made the occasion auspicious in the extreme. 
So far from portending ruin, the event is the harbinger 
of much future prosperity." 

The Emperor could think of no way of refuting his 
words, so he said : " I have just composed the first verse 
of an antithetical* couplet ; if you can supply me with the 
second half, matching mine exactly, I will forgive you the 
punishment which you deserve, if only for bandying 
words so plausibly. Here is my verse : 

" The ruler of the evil stars hath encountered the ruler of all mcrlal 
men." 

The old man asked to be excused on the plea of his great 
age and failing faculties. " Will you permit the bride- 
groom to try his skill in my stead?" The Emperor 
agreed, so the bridegroom was summoned. On hearing 
the first verse, he replied without a moment's hesitation : 

44 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" The bright Star of Good Omen^ has shone upon the fortunate bride- 
groom ! " 

The Emperor was delighted at the prompt and fitting 
antithesis and said to the assembled company : " Some 
day he will become a doctor of the Hanlin Academy." 
The old man then bade the bridegroom prostrate himself 
on the ground and thank His Majesty, who, seeing that 
his identity had been discovered, mounted his carriage and 
departed. 

The bridegroom had already attained his Master's 
degree; after passing the next year for the doctorate, he 
attended at Court, together with the other successful 
competitors, to be presented. The Emperor recognised 
him, and appointed him to be a Hanlin compiler, saying : 
" We were an intruder at your wedding banquet : this, 
though belated, is Our wedding present." 

^ The star thus named is often used as a figurative appellation of the 
Son of Heaven. 



45 



CHAPTER II 
AN INFAMOUS EUNUCH 

Readers of China under the Empress Dowager may 
remember how, when the great Tzu Hsi lay dying, the 
watchers by her bedside asked her, in accordance with 
ancient custom, to pronounce her last words. " Never 
again," she said, " allow any woman to hold the supreme 
power in the State. It is against the house-law of our 
dynasty and should be strictly forbidden. Be careful 
not to allow eunuchs to meddle in Government matters. 
The Ming dynasty was brought to ruin by eunuchs, and 
its fate should be a warning to my people." 

Tzu Hsi knew well the law, though she observed it not 
herself. She was deeply read in the history of China, but 
in the matter of the eunuchs' power at Court, she failed 
to benefit by its teaching. Although her edicts fre- 
quently denounced the corrupt and demoralising influence 
of the " rats and foxes " who infested her Palace, de- 
scribing them as " fawning sycophants " and " artful 
minions," against whom the Throne must ever be sternly 
vigilant, she nevertheless allowed her favourites, An 
Te-hai and Li Lien-ying, to wield an authority only little 
inferior to her own. She knew that, not only under the 
Mings but under the Han and Tang dynasties, the authority 
of the Sovereign had been usurped and degraded by these 
myrmidons, to the ruin of the State. Yet she took no 
steps to rid her own Court of evils which all her best 
advisers denounced and which, under her successor, Lung 

46 



I 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Yii, became no small factor in the final decline and fall 
of the Manchu power. 

When Tzti Hsi spoke of the ruin of the Ming dynasty 
by the eunuchs, she had in mind the history of the Emperor 
Wan Li and his three successors, the last of the Mings, 
and that of the infamous Chief Eunuch Wei Chung-hsien, 
whose memory is universally execrated to this day by 
the Chinese people. The tale of this foul creature's evil 
deeds and of the calamities which he brought upon the 
Throne and people of China, sheds no little light on the 
dark places of life in the Forbidden City, where, beneath 
the dignities and splendours prescribed by venerable 
tradition, lie grim shadows of death- dealing intrigue, of 
cold-blooded cruelty and lust and greed; where, close to 
the polished surface of Sacred Edicts and Confucian 
philosophy, lurk the elemental passions and insatiable 
ambitions of Oriental despotism. The life story of Wei 
Chung-hsien reveals the seamy side of China's imperial 
tapestry of state-craft. It serves to remind us, firstly, 
that it is the human equation, the impulses and instincts 
of dominant individuals which, far more than any theories 
of government, shape the destinies of peoples; secondly, 
that the human equation, predetermined in its essentials 
by climatic and economic environment, remains unchanged, 
and to a great extent unchangeable, beneath the surface 
of national life. 

The Emperor Wan Li ascended the Throne in 1573 as 
a child, and being educated under the influence of the 
women and eunuchs of the Palace, remained under that 
influence all his days. During the last twenty years of 
his reign he refused to transact affairs of State through 
the proper officials, conducting all the business of Govern- 
ment through his principal eunuchs, and through the 
Imperial Concubine Cheng, who was the mother of his 
favourite son. Prince Fu. 

Wan Li's eldest son, Ch'ang Lo, was a Prince of high 

47 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

promise, of strong and virtuous disposition, but the evil 
influence of Lady Cheng and the eunuchs poisoned the 
Emperor's mind against him, so that the two rarely saw 
each other. Eventually, in 1615, when Ch'ang Lo was 
thirty-four years of age, the Lady Cheng, desiring to 
secure the succession for her dissolute son. Prince Fu, 
conspired with her brother Cheng Kuo-tai and two 
eunuchs, named Pang Pao and Liu Ch'eng, to have the 
Heir Apparent murdered. Their plans were laid with 
great care and subtlety, but they failed, owing to the 
stupidity of their hired assassins and to the courage of 
Ch'ang Lo's personal attendants. This attempt on the 
life of the Heir Apparent created a profound impression 
on the public mind, not only at Peking but in the pro- 
vinces ; it revealed to the nation the true state of affairs 
in the Palace, and laid the foundations of that distrust 
and disrespect for the dynasty which were subsequently 
manifested in Li Tzii-ch'eng's rebellion. Shortly before 
sunset of an evening in June 1615, a man, armed with a 
stout cudgel of jujube wood, forced his way into the 
residence of the Heir Apparent, the Palace of Benevolent 
Blessings, and having felled the eunuch on guard at the 
outer door, made his way to Ch'ang Lo's private apart- 
ments; but there, hesitating, he was overpowered and 
disarmed. Cast into prison, at first he feigned madness, 
but subsequently attempted to explain his action. His 
name, he said, was Chang Ch'ai, and he lived in a small 
village not far from the Imperial Eastern Mausolea. The 
Lady Cheng had sent some of her eunuchs to build a shrine 
near to the tombs, and these men had made a brick kiln 
there, close by a pile of brushwood which he had collected 
for fuel. Some one had set fire to the brushwood. En- 
raged at the loss, he had come to Peking to lodge a com- 
plaint at the Palace, and on entering the Forbidden City 
had met a man who told him that he must carry a cudgel 
as a sign that he was bearing a petition. On reaching 

48 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the Heir Apparent's residence he had been angered by 
the eunuch, but meant no harm to the Prince. 

Complying with the Heir Apparent's request, the 
Emperor ordered a formal inquiry into the case. The 
officials entrusted with the examination of the prisoner, 
shrewdly suspecting that the Lady Cheng and her brother 
were at the bottom of the affair, endeavoured to hush it 
up and to treat it as the work of a lunatic. One member 
of the Court of Inquiry refused, however, to agree with 
the rest, who wished to have Chang Ch'ai beheaded with- 
out further ado. He insisted on a thorough investigation, 
and examined the prisoner in private. Eventually a con- 
fession was extracted; the attempt at murder had been 
instigated by one of the eunuchs, with promise of rich 
reward. 

This evidence being reported to the Court, a new 
Commission was appointed, which, after applying torture, 
elicited a further confession. The instigators of the crime 
were declared to be the eunuch Pang Pao and another 
named Liu Ch'eng, both henchmen of the Lady Cheng. 
Chang admitted that he had been in their pay for three 
years, and that they had told him if he succeeded in killing 
the Prince he should never want for meat and drink. 

At this stage of the case public indignation began to 
be displayed in the capital, and a Censor was emboldened 
to accuse the Lady Cheng's brother of connivance in the 
crime. In a plain-spoken memorial he urged that the 
Emperor should order the immediate arrest of the two 
men named by the prisoner and, if implicated, the Imperial 
Concubine's brother ; and it would be her duty to request 
the Emperor to have him decapitated. If the prisoner 
Chang were nov/ put out of the way, and the case hushed 
up, the world would know that the Lady Cheng and her 
brother were guilty. 

The Emperor was greatly disturbed by this memorial. 
Being himself of a lazily gentle disposition, he had no 
E 49 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

conception of the depths of cruelty and villainy about 
him, and would have wished to avoid the further inquiries 
that threatened to involve the good name of his favourite 
consort. But the officials and Censorate continued to 
urge that the case must be thoroughly investigated; the 
city was in a ferment of excitement, and the Palace gates 
were closed. A Censor now asked that the market days 
of the Forbidden City should be temporarily suspended, 
and that a strict watch of police be maintained at the 
Palace gates, to guard against further attacks. The 
Court declined to close the market, but ordered that for 
the time being no metal utensils or weapons be sold 
therein.^ 

At this juncture, the Grand Secretary Fang Tsung-che 
intervened, and bluntly warned the Emperor that any 
further hesitation in regard to the open trial of Chang 
Ch'ai could not fail to produce a bad impression and 
probably dangerous consequences. He reminded the 
Sovereign that one of the conspirators, Liu Ch'eng, had 
already been accused of witchcraft against His Majesty. 
Wan Li was so greatly impressed by this, that he turned 
against his favourite concubine and angrily bade her 
" look out for herself." Terrified at the turn affairs were 
taking, the Lady Cheng sought out the Heir Apparent and 
begged his forgiveness and help. The Prince magnani- 
mously forgave her. 

On the following morning. His Majesty went to the 
Heir Apparent's Palace and held an audience of the entire 
Court. In the presence of all, he took his son by the 
hand and said : " You all see this dutiful son of mine. 
Know that I love him dearly. Had I intended to kill 
him, I should have done so long ago. Why do you all 
try to create discord between father and son? " Then 

^ Under the Ming dynabty, the gates of the Palace were always 
opened on tliese Ko-called market-days, to alloAv of the removal of 
refuse accuumlatcd iu the Forbidden City. 

50 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

he called the Chamberlain to summon the Heir Apparent' s 
three sons, who were conducted to the dais by the 
Emperor's side. He bade the Court look well at them. 
" These three grandsons of mine are now grown lads," 
he exclaimed; "what nonsense is this that you talk?" 
He asked Ch'ang Lo whether there was anything he wished 
to say : " Tell me the whole truth and conceal nought." 
The Heir replied : " This wretched lunatic Chang Ch'ai 
ought to be put to death at once, and so let the matter 
end." Then, turning to the Court, the Prince went on : 
" All of you can see the affection which exists between my 
father and me. These nonsensical rumours which you have 
been spreading make you to appear as disloyal Ministers 
and me as an unfeeling son." Wan Li called out : " Do 
you hear what the Prince has said ? " He repeated these 
words thrice, and the whole Court made obeisance. 

Next day the wretched Chang Ch'ai was decapitated 
and, at the intercession of Ch'ang Lo, the instigators of 
his crime were pardoned. Dearly was the magnanimous 
Prince to pay for this act of short-sighted clemency. For 
the time being, the eunuchs conspired no more against his 
life, content with the power they enjoyed under his father; 
but their enmity against him brooded, biding its time, in 
the dark places of the Forbidden City. 

Li 1620, Wan Li lay upon his death-bed, but by order 
of the Lady Cheng his Ministers of State and the Heir 
Apparent were not permitted to enter the Presence. Once 
more rumour flew, trumpet-tongued, through Peking, and 
a brave Censor, named Yang Lien, urged the Grand 
Secretaries to do their duty and to insist upon admission. 
The Grand Secretary Fang, after much persuasion, pro- 
ceeded, at the head of his colleagues, to the Emperor's 
bedchamber. His Majesty was evidently moribund. 
Yang Lien and another honest Censor, Tso Kuang-tou, 
seeing this, insisted that the Heir Apparent, who was 
anxiously waiting without, should be summoned to re- 

51 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

ceive his father's last commands, to tend him at the last, 
and to " taste his medicine." He was brought in just as 
Wan Li expired. 

Ch'ang Lo, known in history by the dynastic title of 
Kuang Tsung (Glorious Ancestor), might have saved the 
dynasty had he been able to protect himself against the 
murderous hatred of the Lady Cheng and her eunuch 
confederates, but his life lasted less than two months 
from the date of his accession. He died of slow poison- 
ing by arsenic, undoubtedly administered by his eunuch 
attendants. 

The Lady Cheng, as usual, played craftily for safety, 
whilst steadily pursuing her ambitious designs. Shortly 
after the new Emperor's accession, she sent him gifts of 
great price, jade and pearls and eight beautiful maidens; 
at the same time she made friends with his favourite concu- 
bine, the Lady Li, and urged her to persuade the Emperor 
to confer upon herself the title of Empress Dowager, a 
suggestion which evoked immediate and unanimous 
opposition from the Board of Ceremonies. 

The Emperor's illness rapidly increased; it was aggra- 
vated shortly before his death by one of the eunuchs 
(Tsui Wen-sheng) administering an extremely violent 
purgative. The Court became seriously alarmed, whilst 
in the city the report was spread that the Son of Heaven 
was being done to death by the Imperial Concubines. 
Once more the brave Censors Yang Lien and Tso Kuang- 
tou came forward, demanding that, in conformity with 
inviolable tradition, the Lady Cheng be compelled to 
depart from the Palace of Celestial Purity (in which Wan 
Li had died) where no female is allowed to sleep. The 
Lady Cheng at first refused to move, but eventually, 
fearful of popular clamour, she complied. 

Yang Lien next proceeded to impeach the eunuch who 
had administered the purgative to His Majesty. " This 
villain is no physician," he said, " and ought not to be 

52 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

allowed to conduct his wanton experiments upon the 
divine person. If he knew anything about medicine, he 
must be aware that tonics, and not purgatives, are needed 
in a weakening complaint. What the Emperor requires 
is strengthening physic, at a time when he is naturally 
suffering from the shock of his sire's death and is also 
overworked with State affairs. It is at such a time that 
the eunuch gives an aperient. Rumours declare that the 
Emperor is not in good hands, and that there are designs 
against his life. Tsui Wen-sheng excuses himself on the 
ground that the Emperor's weakness is due to debauchery, 
but the truth is that he calumniates His Majesty's morals 
as well as increasing his sickness. Such a man deserves 
to be eaten. Why does Your Majesty allow such traitors 
at your elbows ? " Another Censor urged the Grand 
Secretary to take more care of the Emperor's sacred 
person, and added that a wrong prescription had evidently 
been given. 

The Court officials were all summoned to the Imperial 
bedchamber, a side apartment in the Palace of Celestial 
Purity. A special decree had previously ordered Yang 
Lien to repair thither for audience. The courtiers grouped 
themselves about the Emperor's bedside. The dying 
Monarch looked closely at Yang Lien as if he meant to 
consign his sons to his protection. He then addressed the 
Court : " I am glad to see you all," he said. The Grand 
Secretary replied : " Pray, Sire, be more careful about the 
medicine you are receiving." The Monarch rejoined : 
" I have taken none for ten days." He then appointed 
the concubine Li to be secondary Consort. The lady there- 
upon sent for the Heir Apparent, and in the presence of 
the Court asked him to demand for her the title of Empress. 
He did so, but his father refused to grant the request and 
closed the audience. The Court was greatly astonished at 
her audacity. 

The Emperor lingered on, growing daily worse. Five 

53 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

days later the last agony had begun, and once more he 
summoned his Ministers to a farewell audience. As they 
pressed him to nominate his successor, he pointed to his 
eldest son, and said : " Help him to be a good man." 
Then he spoke of the Imperial tomb. The courtiers pre- 
tended to misunderstand, and asked if he referred to his 
father's tomb north of Peking. " No, I mean my own." 
They answered : " May Your Majesty live for ever; why 
speak of this now ? " The Emperor then asked : " Where 
is the official from the Court of Banquets who was to give 
me some medicine?" The Grand Secretary replied: 
" The Secretary Li K'o-shao claims that he possesses a 
marvellous remedy, but we dare not recommend it." 
The Emperor bade him be sent for, to feel his pulse. He 
was ushered in, gave a very fluent diagnosis of the disease, 
and suggested his remedy. The Emperor was pleased, 
and agreed to take the drug. Li was told to discuss the 
matter with the doctors and the Ministers, but they came 
to no decision. The Grand Secretary Liu Yi-ching re- 
marked that this particular remedy had been taken by two 
men in his native place : one had recovered and the other 
had died, so it could not be called an infallible prescription. 
The Board of Rites thought it would be dangerous to ad- 
minister it, but while they were still discussing they were 
again summoned to the Emperor's presence. Li K'o-shao 
then hastily compounded the medicine, the famous red 
pill, and gave it to the Emperor, who swallowed it. He 
gasped slightly and exclaimed : " My loyal servants ! " 

After taking the medicine, the Emperor dismissed his 
Ministers, who waited in an ante-chamber. In a short 
time a decree was brought out to them, which said : 
" Our person is much better." At sunset Li K'o-shao 
was permitted to administer another red pill, and at dawn 
next day the Monarch " ascended on the dragon," aged 
tliirty-nine. 

Upon the Emperor's death, his would-be Empress, the 

54 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

concubine Li, threw off all disguise and came boldly to 
the front with her chief henchman, the eunuch Wei Chin- 
shang (who subsequently received from the new Emperor 
the name of Wei Chung-hsien, meaning, Wei, the loyal 
and good). These two and their troop of eunuchs now 
held the Palace against all comers, kept close watch on 
the Heir to the Throne, and issued orders forbidding the 
usual mourning of Ministers at the deceased Sovereign's 
bier. Once more the Censor Yang Lien braved the powers 
of darkness in high places. Forcing his way through the 
eunuchs, he demanded to see the Heir Apparent. The 
concubine Li sent word that the young Emperor had left 
the Palace, but that he would soon return. She then 
actually endeavoured to smuggle him out of the For- 
bidden City, but his movements were discovered, and he 
was conducted back to his Palace. Under the direction 
of Yang Lien he ascended the palanquin and received the 
obeisances of the Court. It was proposed that he should 
formally ascend the Throne without delay, but Yang Lien 
deprecated unceremonious haste, since the succession was 
not contested. At the same time he took vigorous steps 
to preserve law and order in Peking. 

The young Emperor T'ien Ch'i (known in history as 
Hsi Tsung) was but fifteen years of age when called to 
ascend the Dragon Throne ; a weakly lad, of small stature, 
and utterly lacking in strength of character. From the 
date of his accession, the power of the eunuchs, hitherto 
kept in check by the firmness and moral dignity which his 
grandfather. Wan Li, had always displayed at critical 
moments, increased beyond all bounds, until their leader, 
Wei Chung-hsien, became the autocratic ruler of the 
Empire. With the death of Kuang Tsung, the Lady 
Cheng could no longer hope to secure the Throne for 
her son, the dissolute Prince Fu, so that graduallj?- her 
influence and her interest in Palace politics became less 
personal and less aggressive. 

55 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Immediately upon the death of Kuang Tsung, a struggle 
for supreme power began between the concubine Li and 
the new Emperor's foster-mother, the fascinating and 
notoriously wicked woman known to history as Madame 
K'o. The Emperor's mother having died years before, 
it was the ambition of Lady Li, through her influence over 
him and by the power of the eunuchs, to arrogate to 
herself the position of an Empress Dowager, and to rule 
the Empire. To this end she began by ignoring the 
dynastic law which required her to remove from the 
Palace of her late lord, announcing her intention of re- 
siding there with the young Emperor, and she was able to 
enlist on her side the sympathies of the Grand Secretary 
Fang Tsung-che. But the Censor Yang Lien and his 
colleague Tso Kuang-tou, backed by an honest eunuch 
named Wang An, were not disposed to acquiesce in such 
irregularities. They protested most energetically, and 
put in a joint memorial demanding that the concubine Li 
should forthwith take her departure from the Central 
Palace to that of the Whirring Phoenixes. Tso pointed 
out that an Emperor of fifteen required no mother to 
attend him, and that if such a breach of custom were 
permitted, China might be afflicted by another usurpation 
of power like that of the Empress Wu in the T'ang 
dynasty. 

At this the Lady Li was very wroth, and sent a eunuch 
to summon Tso to her presence ; but he declined, saying : 
" I am the servant of the Son of Heaven; his orders only 
will I obey." Yang Lien, discussing the matter angrily 
with the Grand Secretary, observed : " Even if the 
Emperor's own mother were alive, he must take pre- 
cedence over her. What manner of woman is the concu- 
bine Li that she dares thus insult the dignity of the 
Throne?" 

As some of the eunuchs showed signs of a desire to support 
Lady Li's action, Yang announced his intention of re- 

56 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

maining in the Palace until she had moved out. To those 
who sided with the Grand Secretary he said : " Let the 
woman Li go to the Temple of Ancestors and state her 
demands before the sacred shrines. Are you all in her 
pay ? Let her kill me if she can. I will not move until 
she does." 

Faced with this crisis, on a clear issue where public 
opinion and the law were all against her, the Lady Li 
made a virtue of necessity and evacuated the Palace, but 
not before her retainers had looted much of its store of 
gold ingots. The chroniclers report that Yang's hair and 
moustache turned completely white during these days of 
danger. But he had won the day, and from this point the 
influence and activities of Lady Li waned rapidly at Court. 
Certain of the eunuchs of her immediate following en- 
deavoured to enlist for her the sympathies of the high 
officials of the Court, by spreading rumours that it was 
her intention to commit suicide in order to escape further 
persecution. Hereupon a Censor demanded that the 
Emperor should definitely communicate to the Grand 
Secretariat his decision in regard to her, in order to allay 
these unseemly rumours of the eunuchs. There is every 
reason to believe that this action of the Censor's was in- 
spired not, like Yang Lien's, by pure motives of loyalty 
to the Throne, but by the party of the eunuch Wei Chung- 
hsien, who now abandoned the cause of Lady Li and 
became the close confederate of Madame K'o, the foster- 
mother. Beyond all doubt feminine jealousy and the 
hand of Madame K'o were behind the decree which the 
boy Emperor proceeded to issue in reply to the Censor's 
memorial. It said : 

" When I was a boy the Lady Li used so to bully my 
sacred mother that she fell sick and died. To the end of 
my days I shall bear her ill-will for this. Also, when my 
father lay dying, she laid violent hands on my person and 
demanded to be made Empress Consort. At that time I 

57 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

was living in the Palace of Benevolent Blessings; every- 
day she would send her two Chief Eunuchs to compel me 
to submit all State papers for her perusal. I have now 
transferred her to the Palace of Whirring Phoenixes, in 
filial remembrance of the love my father bore to her. I 
do not propose to involve her in the punishment which 
will be meted out to her satellites for stealing valuables 
from the Palace." 

A little later and the Lady Li's downfall was complete. 
Another decree of the Emperor deprived her of her rank 
as concubine, " in order to comfort his mother in heaven," 
while continuing her maintenance grant, " in order to 
show honour to his father," a typical Chinese " face- 
saving " solution. From this moment Wei Chung-hsien 
and his confederate Madame K'o stand forth in absolute 
and almost undisputed authority. Under Wan Li, the 
Chief Eunuch had ruled the capital and chastised the 
Court with whips; he now proceeded to chastise it with 
scorpions. 

The first noteworthy indication of their vengeful and 
bloodthirsty power was given when they did to death the 
loyal eunuch Wang An, who had dared to support the 
Censor Yang Lien in his fight for clean government. Wei 
Chung-hsien forged and uttered an Imperial decree con- 
demning Wang to death, and in order to prevent any 
chance of his being reprieved, had him murdered in 
prison. Yang Lien, who might have saved this honest 
man, had already left Peking, and gone into retirement 
at his home. In applying for permission to resign, he 
had boldly told the young Emperor that, having done his 
duty in cleansing the Palace of the usurping concubine, 
he desired only to leave the capital, for his straightforward 
nature could not brook the sycophants and traitors who 
surrounded the Throne. He was to pay dearly for his 
courage. 

The young Emperor was only too willing to allow all 

58 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the business of the State to pass into the hands of the 
masterful eunuch and of the woman K'o, who exercised 
so baneful an influence over him. He devoted himself 
continually to his hobby of carpentry, which Wei Chung- 
hsien encouraged. The eunuch would wait until he was 
busy with plane and saw and then go to him asking for 
instructions concerning some routine question of govern- 
ment or one of the day's memorials. Hsi Tsung, hating 
to be disturbed, would tell him to settle the business as 
he thought fit; and thus, little by little, the eunuch 
usurped all the functions of the Sovereign. The Emperor 
Ch'ien Lung, commenting on the causes of the Ming 
dynasty's ruin, ascribed it partly to " Hsi Tsung's infatuate 
interest in mean and cunning handicrafts, which brought 
him into competition with workmen. Eunuchs," he wrote, 
" have always tried to engage their Sovereign's attention 
in ignoble pursuits, so that they might freely pursue their 
ambitious designs. In all ages, bad men are the same in 
their ways; the pity is that Sovereigns should be so blind 
as to fall into the snares prepared for them." 

During the seven years of his calamitous reign, one good 
influence, and one only, saved the young Emperor from 
utter degradation, and led good men occasionally to hope 
that he might in time cast off his bondage and assert the 
Imperial dignity of his Throne. This was the influence 
of his consort, the " Precious Pearl," in whom dignity, 
virtue and high courage were combined to a degree which 
make her one of the most admirable women in China's 
history, and indeed in the history of the world. Her 
gentle and steadfast character shines brightly to this day 
against the dark background of those evil times, her lofty 
ideals, patience and loyalty smell sweet and blossom, 
even now, amidst the dust and ruins of a degenerate 
age. Seldom indeed has history recorded a nobler life, or 
a more pathetic death. We make no apology for digressing 
at this point, to tell the romantic story of her youth and 

59 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

of her selection to be the Empress Consort of China's weak 
and dissolute Monarch. 

In the winter of the year 1612, a student of K'ai Feng-fvi, 
named Chang Kuo-chi, found lying by the roadside a little 
girl, aged six, and taking her to his home, adopted her as 
his daughter, by the name of Chang Yen. Her " style " 
was " Precious Pearl." He attended carefully to her 
education and she proved remarkably intelligent and dili- 
gent in study. Chang Kuo-chi had intended her to marry 
his son, but was dissuaded from this course by a Buddhist 
priest who, after casting her horoscope, foretold for her a 
far more exalted position. In 1620, the year of the death 
of Wan Li, the dissolute Prince Fu (son of Lady Cheng) 
came to take up his fief of Honan, and forthwith sent 
eunuchs to search through the city of Kaifeng for damsels 
worthy to enter his harem. One of the eunuchs came to 
Chang's house, and seeing " Precious Pearl," then aged 
fourteen, bade her accompany him to the Prince's Palace, 
but the girl indignantly repelled him, threatening that if 
he laid a hand upon her she would commit suicide. 

In the year (1621) following the death of the Emperor 
Wan Li and his unfortunate son, the Emperor Kuang 
Tsung, the young Emperor Hsi Tsung, then aged sixteen, 
proclaimed his intention of solemnising his marriage. The 
whole Empire was ngtified that comely maidens between 
the ages of thirteen and sixteen were eligible; after which 
the eunuchs made an eliminating inspection. Those whose 
height or figure failed to reach the required standard were 
weeded out, until the number was reduced to 4000. On the 
following day a much more careful scrutiny was conducted 
by the two head eunuchs, who made copious notes of each 
damsel's features, size of nose, colour of hair, shape of waist 
and length of foot. Each maiden was required to state 
clearly her name, lineage and age ; if the timbre of the voice 
did not satisfy the eunuchs, she was at once rejected. 
Stammering or thickness of speech was regarded as an 

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8 I 






THE COURT OF PEKING 

insuperable defect. As a result of this scrutiny, only 
2000 remained eligible, and on the following day further 
physical measurements were made, in addition to which 
each candidate was required to walk a hundred paces, in 
order that her deportment might be observed. Any 
slovenliness of gait or lack of dignity disqualified the 
candidate; after this test only 1000 remained. These 
were then taken into the Inner Palace where they were 
subjected to a searching scrutiny by discreet and elderly 
women of the Palace, who compelled them to strip so that 
their persons might be scanned from head to foot. Three 
hundred were ultimately chosen to undergo a month's 
probation as Palace handmaidens. Those amongst them 
who showed signs of stubbornness or of frivolous dis- 
position were weeded out, until at the end of the month 
only fifty remained, all of whom were appointed to be 
Imperial concubines. 

The Chief Eunuch in charge of the Ceremonial Depart-" 
ment was greatly impressed by " Precious Pearl's " beauty, 
and placed her at the head of the list to be presented to 
the Senior Concubine, Lady Chao, who had been one of 
the Emperor Wan Li's chief wives, and was at present acting 
as Empress Dowager. This lady, an accomplished scholar, 
tested each candidate in caligraphy and other accomplish- 
ments. Finally three were chosen as candidates for the 
position of Empress, of whom "Precious Pearl " was one; 
the other two young ladies were named Wang and Tuan. 

In accordance with ancient custom, the Lady Chao 
enveloped the heads of the three chosen ones in turbans 
of black crape, and fastened the arms of each with a 
bracelet of jade and gold. They were then taken into an 
inner chamber for a final examination by the women of 
the Palace, to make sure that they were without spot or 
blemish. 

In due course their report was submitted. The official 
chronicler gives from it a detailed list of the future 

61 



^ 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Empress's charms, some of which is unprintable. Her 
complexion was as the dawn, her eyes like autumn waves, 
her lips like cherries; her teeth, numbering thirty-eight 
in all, were perfect, her chin ample, and she was free of 
birthmarks. 

Lady Chao hastened to report to His Majesty, and con- 
ducted the three maidens to his apartments, where his 
foster-mother, the evil Madame K'o, was waiting to help 
the Emperor to make a final choice. At this time, K'o 
was about thirty-three, a woman of great physical beauty 
and charm. The Emperor had already bestowed upon her 
the title of the " Holy Lady of Ch'in." i 

Madame K'o took an immediate and instinctive dislike 
to " Precious Pearl " and began to criticise her. " For 
a girl of fifteen," she said, " her figure is too stout; she 
won't improve as she gets older. She is good-looking after 
a fashion, but quite unworthy to be your Consort." Point- 
ing to Miss Wang, she exclaimed, " That's the wife for 
you." The Emperor, however, was evidently attracted 
by " Precious Pearl," but following the prescribed custom, 
he asked the Lady Chao's advice. She replied : " All 
three are exceptionally comely, but Miss Chang ('Precious 
Pearl') surpasses the others in dignity of demeanour." 

Thereupon, nothing loth. His Majesty chose " Precious 
Pearl" for his Consort. Miss Wang was given the title 
of " Virtuous Concubine " and Miss Tuan that of " Pure 
Concubine." The eighth day of the fourth Moon follow- 
ing was fixed by the astronomers as auspicious for the 
Emperor to ascend his nuptial couch; and three weeks 
later the new Empress received her patents. The Emperor 
asked her many questions about her family and past life. 
Her replies greatly pleased him, and she speedily acquired 

1 Ch'in, the classical name of the province of Shensi, of which she 
was a native. The ruins of Madame K'o's private residence are still 
visible just outside the Tung An Gate of Peking, and the site is 
popularly known as the "Foster-Mother's Palace." 

62 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

over him that influence for good which became the one 
redeeming featm-e of his weak nature. Her father (by 
adoption), Chang Kuo-chi, was ennobled as an "Earl of 
exalted strength," and other members of her family 
received suitable honours. 

A few days after the marriage, Hsi Tsung and his 
Consort proceeded to the Ancestral Temple, where Her 
Majesty performed obeisance before the Imperial shrine. 
Hsi Tsung was at this time only sixteen and of very 
diminutive stature; his Consort towered above him. As 
the Empress's influence increased, Madame K'o showed 
unmistakable signs of jealousy and wrath; nevertheless, 
she continued to visit His Majesty daily in the Palace of 
Heavenly Purity. 

In spite of the Emperor's devotion to his beautiful 
bx'ide, it was evident to all the Court that he was becoming 
more and more subject to the influence of the Chief Eunuch, 
Wei Chung-hsien, who had attended him since early 
infancy. This man and Madame K'o gradually estab- 
lished their authority as the real rulers of China, and 
maintained it throughout his reign. Completely domin- 
ated in regard to affairs of State by the eunuch, Hsi Tsung 
showered honours upon him; meritorious officials were 
tortured and executed to gratify his lightest whim. 
Wholesale proscriptions were made by Wei against those 
who had criticised him, so that it came to pass that even 
the great Viceroys vied with each other in currying favour 
with the all-powerful eunuch. In nearly every province 
shrines were erected to him during his lifetime and he 
was worshipped as a deity. In Kiangsi a temple which 
had been built centuries before, in honour of one of the 
most eminent disciples of Confucius, was dismantled, and 
Wei Chung-hsien' s tablet was set up in its central hall. 
He was likened to the Sage for virtue and learning : nay, 
his merits were even exalted beyond those of the Sage, 
and he was accorded the highest place in the national 

63 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Pantheon. The Governor of Shantung gravely informed 
the Throne that a chilin ^ had been captured in Confucius' 
native province, near to the Sage's grave, an auspicious 
event which he attributed to the fact that near to the 
Throne there stood a person of Wei Chung-hsien's con- 
summate virtue. (The chilin^s rare appearances, Hke 
angels' visits, only occur when the Empire is governed 
by a perfect ruler.) The eunuch was called Lord of 
9000 years, and the Emperor's decrees, which Wei in- 
variably drafted, began with the words : " We and Oue 
eunuch Minister, decree as follows ..." 

In all things the infatuated Monarch submitted to the 
will of Wei Chung-hsien, except only when the eunuch 
and Madame K'o endeavoured to poison his mind against 
his beloved Consort, to whom he remained devotedly 
faithful all his life. Whenever the Emperor, under her 
good influence, showed signs of wishing to devote himself 
to study or serious pursuits, K'o and Wei would lure him 
back into paths of sensual dissipation. The Empress 
feared and disliked them both, but she could not persuade 
Hsi Tsung to free himself from their control. 

Shortly after His Majesty's marriage, certain Censors 
began to send in outspoken memorials against Madame 
K'o, urging that she should not be permitted to spend so 
much of her time in-the Forbidden City in close attendance 
upon the Sovereign ; it being contrary to etiquette that a 
woman should be allowed to enter the Palace of Heavenly 
Purity. The Emperor, in reply to these memorials, de- 
clared that his wife's extreme youth required the guiding 
hand of a foster-mother. The Censors returned to the 
charge, pointing out that a woman of K'o's low ante- 
cedents was unfit to minister to a person so virtuous as 
the Empress. " How," said one of them, " can this 
woman be permitted to usurp the authority which belongs 

1 A fabulous animal, of origin probably similar to our unicorn. 

64 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

of right to Your Majesty's Consort ? " K'o was eventually 
compelled to leave the Palace, and for a time she remained 
at her own residence, but the weakling Emperor felt her 
absence so deeply that he lost his appetite and became 
greatly dejected. In spite of the remonstrances of the 
Censors, he soon recalled her, and thereafter her influence 
grew greater than before. Waxing proud, she began openly 
to ill-treat those of the concubines who were not on her 
side, and supported by Wei Chung-hsien, dared to show 
open contempt for the Empress. Shortly after her return, 
the Emperor celebrated her birthday with royal splendour. 
Proceeding in person to her residence, he burned incense 
before her tablet and offered up prayers for her long life. 
iVll the eunuchs and concubines of the Court were ordered 
to prostrate themselves in obeisance before her. Sump- 
tuous theatricals were held in her honour for three 
days, and the best musicians in the capital were specially 
engaged. In the following month the Empress's birth- 
day occurred, but no entertainments were given in the 
Palace, nor were any promotions conferred. Even in 
the tea-houses, men knew where lay the power behind the 
Throne. 

Thus things went on, from bad to worse. K'o and 
Wei were served with the richest viands from the Imperial 
kitchens, while the Empress was frequently kept waiting 
for her simple meals. She fully realised the dangers that 
threatened the decadent dynasty at the hands of these 
evil-doers, and frequently remonstrated with the Emperor 
against his flagrant violation of the dynastic laws. K'o 
and Wei now tried to lay snares for the Empress, and set 
one of their eunuch minions, Ch'en Ti-jun, to spy upon 
her in her Palace of Feminine Tranquillity, endeavouring 
all the time to turn the Emperor against her. But she, 
blameless and pure of heart, paid no heed. She spent 
most of her time in reading and in penmanship, wherein 
she was highly expert; to the more intelligent of the 
F 65 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Palace concubines'^she gave lessons in history and philo- 
sophy. A devout Buddhist, she spent many hours in 
prayer before the altar of the Goddess of Mercy. Fre- 
quently she attired herself as a nun and gave herself over 
to pious meditation. She knew full well that her enemies 
were plotting against her, but she relied upon her gentle 
influence over the Emperor, which never failed to hold 
him, although she used no feminine arts to win his favour. 
Her Lord the Emperor being without an heir, she would 
recommend various concubines to his notice, but usually 
excused herself from receiving his conjugal attentions on 
the plea of ill-health. The Emperor was wont to say to 
her : " Your influence over me is wonderful : you are so 
brave, so good. If I but look at you I feel a different 
man. Your face seems to say that you should easily be 
won. How comes it, then, that I find it so difficult to woo 
you?" 

At times he would invite her to a boating excursion 
upon the lake adjoining the Forbidden City; His Majesty 
himself rowing and endeavouring to please her by good- 
humoured badinage. But she would use these occasions 
to remonstrate with him for his wild life, urging him to 
study State papers and to give daily audiences to his 
Ministers. " You ought to make friends with scholars 
and attend lectureswon the classics," she would way, "in- 
stead of dallying with these sycophants." For a time 
the Emperor would obey her advice, but he speedily re- 
lapsed into evil ways. Madame K'o supplied him with 
drugs to stimulate his passions ; whilst " Precious Pearl " 
warned him against all forms of indulgence, and would 
throw the drugs down the well. Wei Chung-hsien arranged 
lewd theatrical performances for His Majesty's amusement, 
but whenever the play was indelicate, the Empress would 
rise from her place and leave the theatre in disgust. 

In the hope of securing her deposition, Wei and K'o 
bribed a man named Sun-erh, a Honanese^ who was lying 

66 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

under sentence of death in the Board of Punishments, to 
say that the Empress was his child and that he had given 
her to her father by adoption, Chang Kuo-chi. To the 
Emperor they said that a criminal's daughter ought not 
to be his Consort and that she should be deposed, Chang- 
Kuo-chi receiving the punishment he merited. The 
Emperor was impressed by the story, and went straight 
to his Consort's apartment to ask her about it. But at 
sight of her tranquil beauty he was abashed, and could 
only say in an embarrassed way : " Are you really the 
daughter of that wretched villain Sun-erh?" The 
Empress blushed slightly and paused before replying. 
Then she said : "If Your Majesty believes such foolish 
rumours, why should I continue to defile the Palace with 
my presence ? Pray let me be deposed and make room 
for another more worthy." The Emperor thereupon 
hurriedly apologised and made amends, all doubt having 
been dispelled from his mind. That night he supped with 
the Empress and next day warned Wei Chung-hsien 
against uttering idle reports. 

Many were the wiles and stratagems by which these 
two evil conspirators endeavoured to injure the Empress 
in the eyes of her lord, and at times — so weak a nature was 
Hsi Tsung's — they seemed to be on the verge of success. 
On one occasion, the Chief Eunuch devised a crafty plot, 
supported by lying witnesses, against Her Majesty's 
adopted father, and induced the Emperor to issue a 
decree reprimanding him and ordering the Empress to 
meditate for three days on his conduct. Later, Madame 
K'o introduced into the harem a creature of her own, 
named Jen, of bad character but pleasing appearance, 
and persuaded the Emperor to grant her high rank 
amongst the Imperial concubines. Here again they 
were nearly successful, for Hsi Tsung became infatuated 
with the woman; yet she did not succeed in completely 
supplanting "Precious Pearl" in his affections. 

67 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

In 1624, the Chief Eunuch was at the height of his 
insolence; none were safe from his rapacious and vindic- 
tive power. It was at this time that he took a fearful 
revenge upon the Censor Yang Lien and the others who 
had denounced him and his former confederate, the 
concubine Li. 

Yang Lien, it will be remembered, had retired from the 
Court to his native place in 1622, shortly after the death 
of Wan Li. In 1624 he returned to Peking and, moved 
to righteous indignation by the evil deeds of Wei and his 
accomplices, he handed in the denunciatory memorial 
which eventually cost him his life. This famous impeach- 
ment of the notorious eunuch is too long to quote in full, 
but it reveals so clearly the condition of the Court, and 
the power wielded by these " rats and foxes," and their 
effect on the government of the country, that we must 
reproduce its most important clauses. 

The memorial begins thus : " The founder of our 
dynasty desired that eunuchs should not interfere in 
governmental affairs, and that evil-doing should not be 
condoned. But the eunuch Comptroller General of the 
Eastern Court ^ behaves with overweaning arrogance, and 
treats the dynastic ordinances with contempt. I venture 
to set forth his chief crimes as follows : 

"1. He is a lewd fellow of common extraction who, after 
being emasculated in middle life, won a position in the 
Palace by sheer intrigue. He wheedled his way into 
Imperial favour by displaying zeal in trivial matters, and 
thereafter developed into a most consummate traitor and 
villain, until he has become practically a dictator, even 
issuing his own decrees, whereby the Government has 
often been thrown into utter confusion. Ancestral tra- 
dition requires that the Grand Secretaries shall issue all 

1 A bureau under eunuchs which had become virtually the Supreme 
Court of the Empire, which drew up decrees, and completely superseded 
the Grand Secretariat. 

68 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

decrees; but since Wei Chimg-hsien's assumption of 
dictatorship, he has either issued Imperial edicts verbally 
or has himself appended the vermilion rescript. Thus 
are the traditions of two centuries defied. 

"2. When His late Majesty lay dying, Liu Yi-ching and 
Chou Chia-mo were the recipients of his last testament, 
but Wei was able to secure their abrupt dismissal, be- 
cause he feared that they might clip his power. In this 
way Your Majesty was made to act undutifully in the 
removal of your august predecessor's faithful servants. 

" 3. Wei dismissed Sun Shen-hsing and Tsou Yuan-piao, 
honest patriots both, who had drawn public attention to 
the poisoning of the late Emperor by eunuchs. He 
bestowed a dragon robe on the henchman of the concu- 
bine Li, the man who administered the dose of red pills 
which killed His Majesty. He is a friend to traitors, and 
the foe of good and loyal men. 

*' 4. He has removed all honest officials from your Court, 
until not a soul is left who dares to warn Your Majesty. 
He has prevented you from employing worthy men lest 
they frustrate his schemes. 

"5. It is a common saying in Peking that Your Majesty, 
the Son of Heaven, can be easily appeased, but that the 
wrath of Wei Chung-hsien cannot be placated. At a 
word from him you dismiss every one who incurs his 
displeasure. 

"6. Thus far I have referred only to officials. Last 
year it was stated that one of the lower concubines 
(' honourable persons ') had won your favour by her 
purity and virtue. Wei became jealous and fearful that 
she should undermine his influence and expose his in- 
famies; she died, therefore, of a sudden and mysterious 
sickness. Your Majesty is unable to protect even your 
cherished favourites. 

"7. Thus far I have spoken only of concubines of lowly 
rank. Lately the senior concubine ' Abundant ' was 

69 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

expecting her confinement, and every one hoped that 
Your Majesty was about to be blessed with an heir. Wei 
hated her because she was not of his party. He issued 
a forged decree which brought about her suicide. Your 
Majesty is powerless to protect even ladies of exalted 
position in your Palace. 

" 8. Thus far I have referred to consorts, but there are 
worse crimes. Your Empress had given birth to a son, 
but it died straightway, as the result of Wei's plottings. 
It is common knowledge that Wei and Madame K'o 
brought about this death. You cannot even protect 
your own son. 

"9. During the forty years in which your father was 
Heir Apparent his position was one of grave peril, but 
he had one faithful henchman, the eunuch Wang An. 
When your father died mysteriously of the fatal red pills 
it was Wang An who saw to your protection and helped 
to secure your safe succession to the Throne. This man 
deserved well of Your Majesty, but Wei issued a forged 
decree and had him beheaded in the Hunting Park. And 
not only did Wang An suffer, but hundreds of your father's 
attendants have been slain or banished. 

"10. Each day sees him rejoicing in fresh honours : 
shrines are built in his honour at which he, a living man, 
is to be worshipped. . There is no limit to his evil influence 
with Your Majesty. In conferring distinctions on such 
a man the words of the Emperor are defiled. At his native 
place of Ho Chien-fu he has erected triumphal arches in 
his own honour, on which are carved Imperial dragons 
and heaven-soaring phoenixes. His sepulchre in the 
Western hills is built on the scale of an Imperial mauso- 
leum and covered with a yellow roof. 

"11. He fills official posts with youths still smelling of 
their mothers' milk, or with illiterate members of his own 
family, like Wei Liang-pi, Wei Liang-tsai and Wei Liang- 
cihng.' 

70 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

"12. He has inflicted humiliating punishment on the 
fathers of Imperial concubines and beheaded their servants 
by scores. He has done his best to ruin the Empress's 
father and to shake even Her Majesty's position. Had it 
not been for the courageous opposition of one of the 
Grand Secretaries, Her Majesty's father would have 
perished on the scaffold. 

" 13. The ' Eastern Court ' was established for the 
purpose of protecting the Throne from treason, but in 
Wei Chung-hsien's hands it has become a deadly machine 
for the removal of rivals by general proscription. He 
keeps a box there into which anonymous accusations may 
be dropped, and traps are set night and day to betray 
those who oppose him. Let but a word be whispered 
against his doings and forthwith a warrant is issued and 
the offender is dragged to trial at the T'ung Wen-kuan. 

"14. Dynastic ordinance forbids that eunuchs should 
form bands of soldiers as bodyguards to the Sovereign. 
For this enactment there are urgent reasons, but Wei has 
got together a troop of his own creatures, who are drilled 
in the Palace. To this band drift naturally all dangerous 
and desperate characters; what is to prevent an assassin 
being found amongst them who would attempt Your 
Majesty's life? 

"15. When Wei was sent to perform sacrifice at 
Chochin, the road was cleared for him, as for an Imperial 
progress. Heralds announced his advance and yellow 
earth was spread upon the highway, so that the people 
believed that he was the Emperor himself. On his Eastern 
journey he was borne in a chariot drawn by four horses, 
Imperial banners and insignia were carried in the pro- 
cession. His bodyguard surrounded him on both sides 
to screen his sacred person from the vulgar gaze. In 
every respect his passing resembled a progress of Your 
Majesty ! Numbers of persons offered their petitions to 
him or made offerings of tribute, prostrating themselves 

71 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

in the dust. What manner of man does this Wei fancy 
himself to be? 

"16. It is well known that, if too much royal favour be 
shown, conceit is thereby engendered, and that excess of 
Imperial grace usually breeds resentment in its recipient 
against the giver. Thus it came to pass that this spring 
Wei dared to ride on horseback in front of Your Majesty. 
Amazed at his effrontery. Your Majesty shot the horse 
dead; Wei's offence was speedily pardoned. He showed 
no contrition, but carried himself the more haughtily in 
your presence and, outside the Palace, spoke despisingly 
of you. He has now surrounded himself with armed 
men, prepared to resist in case of his arrest. Traitors 
and rebels desire only to attain the goal of their nefarious 
ambitions, and nothing stops them until they have gained 
it. Why should you nourish a tiger to work his evil will 
at your very elbows ? Even if Wei's carcase were hacked 
into mincemeat, his sins would remain unexpiated. 

" The tale of his crimes and treasonable designs is 
blazoned abroad in all men's eyes; yet none of your 
courtiers dare speak against him, lest they incur doom. 
Their tongues are tied; not one dare memorialise you. 
Should, perchance, any have the courage to reveal Wei's 
treasons, the ' Lady of Divine Worship,' Madame K'o, 
stands at Your Majesty's side to gloss over his guilt. 
These two are sworn allies ; each aids and abets the other, 
if one calls, the other comes to the rescue. 

" Humbly I implore Your Majesty now to display the 
might of your high displeasure and to appoint a commis- 
sion of the ablest nobles and highest officials, with power 
to subject Wei to relentless examination, in order that the 
law of the land may be vindicated. Also, I beg you to 
have the ' Lady of Divine Worship ' removed from out 
the precincts of the Forbidden City, in order to guard 
you from further danger. Then, though your servant 
die, yet shall he live." 

72 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Wei was greatly alarmed at the revelations of this bold 
memorial and begged the Grand Secretary Han K'uang 
to defend him. Han refused, so Wei hurried to the 
Emperor's presence and abjectly asked to be allowed to 
resign the Comptrollership of the Eastern Court. Madame 
K'o then used all her wiles, imploring the Emperor not to 
give his ear to calumny, while one of the Grand Secretaries 
was found to intercede for the eunuch. For a moment Wei's 
fate hung in the balance, but in the end the unfortunate 
Emperor, in his purblind folly, listened to Madame K'o, 
and issued a complimentary decree retaining Wei at his 
post. On the following morning he issued another edict 
sternly rebuking Yang Lien for his temerity. It had 
been the latter's intention to see the Emperor at the 
morning audience and to recount the eunuch's crimes in 
the Monarch's presence, but Wei induced his master to 
suspend the Court for that day. Baulked of this oppor- 
tunity, and realising the danger of further delay, Yang 
handed in a second memorial at the Gate of Supreme 
Unity. This Wei suppressed, and though Yang sent in 
a third memorial it never reached the Throne. For three 
days no audiences were held, and when finally the Monarch 
emerged he was surrounded by a guard of several hundred 
eunuchs, all of whom had weapons concealed on their 
persons. Orders were issued that no memorials would be 
received from Yang, who was compelled to desist. 

Nevertheless, other memorials of impeachment poured 
in; the Censor Huang Tsun-su asked : " Can a Govern- 
ment be pure with eunuchs at its head, who usurp the 
authority of the Throne? Can Your Majesty employ as 
your right-hand man a creature whose flesh the whole 
Empire desires to eat? You think him loyal, but you 
stand alone and in a perilous position. All upright men 
have left your side, while you lean upon this eunuch as 
on a pillar. Unless you now act swiftly, Wei Chung- 
hsien will never cleanse his heart. He began by destroy- 

73 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

ing officials and scholars, but now he aims at higher quarry. 
If his position is allowed to become stronger not even 
armed force will dislodge him." 

Next, Wei Ta-chung put in a pregnant memorial : 
" When honest men advise the Throne at risk of their 
lives and their words remain unheeded the situation is 
parlous indeed. Yang Lien has not shrunk from the 
peril of dismemberment, concerned only with the dangers 
that threaten the State, and hoping to arouse Your Majesty 
to a knowledge of the truth. Your Majesty has just 
issued a decree assuming to yourself all the misdeeds with 
which he is charged, but I fear the author of this laudatory 
edict is not Your Majesty but Wei himself. It has come 
to this, that you, the Son of Heaven, have surrendered 
yourself and your consorts to the keeping of Wei and 
K'o. The peril of our State makes my blood run cold. 
Those who surround the Throne are tools and creatures of 
Wei and K'o and no true servants of Your Majesty. You 
are become like unto an orphan in a friendless world." 

Another impeachment, endorsed by over a thousand 
academy students, accused Wei of suppressing all attacks 
upon himself, of inducing the Emperor to ignore the word 
of the officials who, kneeling at the gate, had begged for 
Wei's dismissal, and of designs on the Throne itself. 
Finally, a Board Secretary named Wan Ching denounced 
the Chief Eunuch fiercely. This official had charge of the 
building and equipment of the late Emperor's mauso- 
leum; a large amount of copper was needed for its sacri- 
ficial vessels, and as there were vast supplies of the metal 
lying unused in the Imperial precincts, he asked the 
eunuch Comptroller to issue what he needed for the tomb. 
This Wei not only refused to do, but he issued a forged 
decree concerning the application. 

Hereat Wan, greatly enraged, impeached Wei. He 
wrote : " Sovereign power cannot be delegated, and least 
of all to an emasculated minion. This Wei is practically 

74 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

become Emperor and the fountain of all honour; his 
friends secure well-feathered nests, whilst the bodies of 
his enemies are covered with boils and sores. At his 
asking, hereditary titles are granted; his household 
servants receive bribes in thousands of taels. Your 
Majesty favours him with unbounded confidence for that 
he served your father; yet he refuses to issue copper for 
your father's shrine. His own grave at Pi Yiin-ssii, in 
the Western hills, is as large as an Imperial mausoleum; 
in the provinces, stately shrines have been erected in his 
honour, emblazoned with inscriptions and gaudy orna- 
ments. On his own tomb he has spent a million taels, 
while His late Majesty's sepulchre is denied even the 
necessary fittings. Your Majesty's existence is ignored ; 
Wei Chung-hsien fills all men's minds." 

Wei, having recovered from his alarm and made sure 
that the Emperor's favour would not be taken from him, 
now determined to make an example of Wan, so as to 
put fear into his other enemies. He forged a decree 
sentencing him to a flogging of one hundred strokes in the 
Palace, but first he sent a number of eunuchs to Wan's 
own house and had him unmercifully beaten there. When 
the wretched man was brought to the Palace he was still 
alive, but during the official flogging he became uncon- 
scious. The eunuchs then kicked and trampled on him 
so that he died next day. A Censor had the courage to 
protest against this outrage and to speak well of Wan, 
who " had perished by the hands of this abominable and 
sharp-fanged eunuch." The incident, said he, would be 
recorded in history for all time, and would cover the 
Emperor's name with eternal discredit. But the besotted 
Monarch, having made his fatal choice of evil friends, 
paid no heed to these remonstrances and warnings, so 
that Wei hardened his heart and became more reckless 
than ever in his crimes and bloodthirsty revenges. 

The brave Censor, Yang Lien, was now thrown into the 

75 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Imperial prison, and with him Tso Kuang-tou and Wei 
Ta-chung, who had joined him in denouncing the Chief 
Eunuch. This prison was separate and distinct from the 
Board of Punishments; tortures were freely practised 
there. Wei issued a decree that these three men were 
to be tortured every fifth day, and not to be handed over 
to the Board of Punishments until all their money had 
been extorted. All three were tortured most horribly, 
but none of them would confess to having obtained money 
wrongfully by taking bribes. Finally Tso Kuang-tou, 
unable to endure his misery, said to his fellow prisoners : 
" Either they will torture us to death for not confessing, 
or else they will hire one of the gaolers to kill us. If 
now we confess, they must hand us to the Board of 
Punishments for formal trial, and we may then escape." 
His companions agreed, and they all confessed to false 
charges of having taken bribes. But the tiger would 
not release his prey; Wei issued a decree that they were 
not yet to be taken to the public prison, and the torturing 
went on. Yang Lien was eventually killed under a torture 
which consisted of piling great sacks of earth upon his 
belly and driving nails into his ears. When at last the 
bodies of the three victims were handed over to their 
relatives, they were so mutilated as to be unrecognisable. 
The arrest of Yang Lien created much public indignation ; 
thousands of scholars and respectable people lined the 
road by which he had to pass, burning incense in his 
honour and praying for his safe return. Wei's minions 
seized all his property, but it amounted to less than a 
thousand taels, for he was as poor as he was honest. 
Had not the neighbours come to their rescue, his wife 
and sons would have been reduced to beggary. 

Let us now return to tell of the life and death of His 
Tsung's noble Empress. The facts recited in Yang Lien's 
memorial, above quoted, give some idea of the grievous 
wrongs and indignities which, through the miserable 

76 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

weakness of the Emperor, she suffered at the hands of 
the Chief Eunuch and Madame K'o. 

It was in the year 1623 that the Empress became 
enceinte, to the great satisfaction of Hsi Tsung. But the 
Chief Eunuch and Madame K'o had no desire to see Her 
Majesty's influence over him and her authority at Court 
increased by the birth of an heir to the Throne. Two of 
the Empress's favourite and most faithful serving-maids 
were, therefore, put to death by means of forged decrees 
on false charges, and all her other personal attendants 
were dismissed, except those upon whom Madame K'o 
could rely. Their places were taken by women selected 
by the Chief Eunuch, one of whom, employed as a mas- 
seuse, so mishandled the Empress that her child was 
born dead. Shortly afterwards, Her Majesty, goaded to 
desperation by the Emperor's crass folly, determined 
on an attempt to rid the Court at last of the woman whose 
deplorable influence was the chief cause of its wickedness 
and shame. Taking her seat on the dais of the Main Hall 
in the Palace of Feminine Tranquillity, with a number of 
armed retainers on either side, she summoned Madame 
K'o to her presence. When the woman came, suspecting 
nothing serious, the Empress launched straightway into 
a recital of all her sins and wickedness, and ended by 
bidding her prepare to die. K'o knelt at her feet and 
prayed for mercy; meanwhile a eunuch had gone swiftly 
to inform the Emperor, busy at his carpentering, of what 
was taking place. He arrived upon the scene just in time 
to save his foster-mother's life. From this time forward 
the Chief Eunuch and Madame K'o endeavoured by all 
possible means to poison the Emperor's mind against 
his Consort and to deprive her of his protection. She on. 
her side sought strength and consolation in prayer, chant- 
ing Buddhist masses daily for the repose of the souls of 
the murdered Censors and her faithful attendants. She 
hoped thus to move her husband to remorse. Especially 

77 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

did she reproach him for allowing the murder of Yang 
Lien. 

Wei Chung-hsien made repeated attempts to ruin the 
Empress in the eyes of the Court and country by securing 
the disgrace of her adopted father Chang Kuo-chi, against 
whom he brought criminal charges backed by the false 
evidence of his creatures. He produced memorials accusing 
him of plotting against the Emperor's life, of taking bribes, 
and of a secret liaison with a lady of the Court, but Hsi 
Tsung, weak as he was in all other matters, remained 
strongly attached to his beautiful and virtuous wife, and 
the Empress found another loyal defender in the Grand 
Secretary Li Kuo-p'u, who succeeded in checking some 
of the Chief Eunuch's bloodthirsty schemes and in frighten- 
ing the woman, his accomplice. Finally, in the spring of 
1627, upon a false impeachment, the Emperor was in- 
duced to deprive the " Earl of Exalted Strength " of all 
his titles and emoluments and order him into retirement. 
This he did, weary of the importunities of Madame K'o, 
but still he would hear no word against his Consort. 
When she heard of her adopted father's disgrace, the 
Empress stripped off all her ornaments, and dressing 
herself as a mourner, without head covering, sought the 
Emperor's presence, where, on her knees, she thanked him 
for his clemency. 

Shortly after this episode, in the summer of 1627, the 
Emperor fell sick of an illness from which he never re- 
covered. As his state became worse, his affection for his 
loyal and devoted wife increased. At this juncture, Wei 
Chung-hsien had the effrontery to propose to Her Majesty 
that she should become his confederate in a scheme of 
treason and dishonour. This devil incarnate had no 
belief in the constancy of any sort of virtue — in his world 
all were bought and sold, loyalty being merely a question 
of price and opportunity. He and Madame K'o had much 
to fear from the death of the Emperor, the weakling whose 

78 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

name and authority were necessary to their evil purposes. 
Wei could not hope to wield the power of the Throne un- 
less it were filled by a puppet or by an ally. He therefore 
proposed to Her Majesty that, upon her husband's death, 
she should become Chief Regent, accepting as Regent 
Assessor (practically co-Regent) a creature named Wei 
Liang-ch'ing, one of the eunuch's adherents. At the 
same time he desired that the Empress should give out 
that she was enceinte, with the intention of passing off a 
son of Wei Liang-ch'ing as her own child after the 
Emperor's death. In this way the house of Wei would 
attain to the Throne. 

This Wei Liang-ch'ing was merely a tool in the hands 
of the Chief Eunuch, without political ambition of his 
own. He was a wine-bibber and a profligate, whose one 
thought, in accepting the role assigned to him, was to 
obtain possession of the beautiful Empress. To his friends 
he declared, " I care not a jot for the Dragon Throne, 
but to enjoy the society of such a woman as the Goddess 
Chang, 1 that were bliss indeed." The Empress knew 
that, upon Hsi Tsung's passing, it must come to a life- 
and-death struggle between the eunuch and herself, but 
she held her head high and showed no signs of fear. " For 
many years," she said to him, " I have made me ready 
for death. If now I obey you, you will kill me sooner or 
later; if I refuse, you will kill me only a little sooner. 
But if I die resisting you to the utmost, I can face un- 
ashamed the souls of the departed Emperors in the other 
world." 

As the Emperor's end approached, Her Majesty begged 
him to name as his successor his brother, the Prince Hsin. 
" But," said the dying Monarch, " Wei Chung-hsien 
assures me that two of my concubines are with child. If 
an heir should be born to one of them, he will become our 
son and should surely succeed to the Throne." Upon 
^ Thus was the Empress familiarly known in the Palace. 

79 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

this,1theJEmpress spoke to him most earnestly; the 
attendants never knew what words passed between them, 
but the Emperor nodded consent, and summoned his 
brother to receive his dying behests. Prince Hsin was 
about to plead his incompetency, but his sister-in-law, 
attired as a widow, hurriedly emerged from behind an 
alcove and pleaded with him, saying : " My brother, do 
your duty, obey His Majesty. The situation is desperate, 
and I fear a rising in the Palace. Thank His Majesty and 
do as he desires." Prince Hsin then fell upon his knees, 
and the Monarch bade him govern the Empire wisely, 
avoiding the errors which he himself had committed. 
But, blind to the last, he added : " Wei Chung-hsien fully 
deserves your trust and may be given the highest office 
with absolute confidence." Finally, he commended the 
Empress to his brother's tender care. " See to her 
welfare; she has been a faithful Consort to me these 
seven years; much do I owe her. Often has she ad- 
monished me and urged me to better things. Her influence 
has ever been for good. She deserves all your pity; a 
widow, and so young. To your care I commend her." 
Prince Hsin left the Presence, and the Empress concealed 
him in an inner apartment of the Palace, for fear lest Wei 
should assassinate him. The Emperor passed away at 
3 p.m. on the 22nd of the 8th Moon. Thereupon the 
Empress issued his valedictory decree, and commanded 
the hereditary Duke Chang Wei-hsien and other officials 
to escort the new Emperor to the Main Hall of Audience, 
where he should receive obeisance. Wei Chung-hsien was 
persuaded to bide his time and to refrain from challenging 
the authority of this decree by setting up a puppet of his 
own at once. (The eunuchs, as a body, always preferred 
intrigue and assassination to open defiance of dynastic 
law.) The dead Emperor was dressed in his robes of 
longevity, and his widow, weeping at his bier, so exhausted 
herself by excess of grief that she fainted away. 

80 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

On recovering consciousness her first thought was to 
warn the new Emperor against the danger of poison; 
she begged him to touch no food prepared in the Palace 
kitchen. She herself dispatched a confidential chamber- 
lain to the market for victuals which she cooked with her 
own hands. The Emperor thanked her, and as a sign of 
his gratitude for her devotion, recalled her adopted father 
to Peking and restored all his honours. He was allowed 
to enter the Palace and return thanks to his daughter. 
The Emperor conferred upon her the title of Empress 
Senior,^ of Feminine Virtue and Tranquillity, and gave 
her the Palace of Motherly Peace and of Motherly 
Blessings for her abode. 

The new Emperor had abstained from all participation 
in Palace politics during his brother's occupancy of the 
Throne, but he soon showed himself to be a man of strong 
character and noble disposition. The Chief Eunuch's 
position now became one of great danger, for his crimes 
had made him many enemies, who all combined and 
turned against him. Also, Madame K'o had been sincerely 
attached to her foster son, though she had abused his 
confidence, and at his death, stricken with remorse, she 
ceased to be useful for treasonable purposes. The power 
of the evil confederacy which had wrought so many 
and great evils was now broken. Before the late Emperor's 
coffin, Madame K'o penitently burned pathetic relics of 
his childhood, which she had treasured — his first tooth, 
some locks of baby hair, a few broken toys, and the scabs 
which had peeled off him after smallpox. But her time 
had come. Shortly afterwards she was arrested, accused 
of countless crimes on overwhelming evidence, and 
sentenced to death by the slicing process, every member 
of her family and household being also condemned to 
execution. At her death the people rejoiced as at a 
festival. In her quarters at the Palace there were found 
1 To be distinguished from Empress Dowager. 
^^ 81 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

six Imperial concubines, all with child, and it was proved 
that she had intended to poison the new Emperor and to 
make one of these infants of unknown paternity heir to 
the Throne. All these wretched women were condemned 
to death, victims of another's evil ambition. 

The tide had now turned strongly against Wei Chung- 
hsien, and realising that his position was desperate, he 
escaped from the Palace and fled to Shantung. Out- 
lawed, and abandoned by all his followers, he committed 
suicide near the grave of Confucius, but by order of the 
Throne his body was subsequently dismembered and the 
head exhibited at his native city (Ho Chien-fu), a,nd many 
scores of his adherents, especially those who had conspired 
against the Empress, were put to death. 

Throughout the troublous reign of the new Emperor 
Ch'ung-chen (1627-1644) the Senior Empress lived on 
tei'ms of happy intimacy and affection with him and with 
his Consort, respected and beloved of the populace. In 
1642, upon the marriage of the Heir Apparent, she took 
up her residence, as custom prescribed, in the Palace of 
Benevolent Old Age. 

Her death was as meritorious as her life had been. In 
1644, when Peking had fallen into the hands of the rebel 
Li Tzu-ch'eng and the city was being ravaged and burned 
by his troops, the Emperor sent her a message bidding her 
commit suicide, but in the tumult and confusion the 
messenger failed to reach her. When she heard that 
Li Tzii-ch'eng was battering at the gates of the Forbidden 
City, she called for a sword, but was unable to deal herself 
a fatal blow, and her attendants endeavoured to dissuade 
her from seeking death. Failing with the sword, she 
hanged herself with her girdle, but was cut down by her 
servants and urged to seek safety in flight. Angrily she 
stamped her foot, saying : " You have disgraced me," 
and ran to a side room, where again she tried to hang 
herself, but some of Li Tzu-ch'eng's men arrived just in 

82 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

time to cut her down. As she came to her senses the rebels 
gathered around her, praising her beauty. One of them, 
who seemed to be a leader, exclaimed : " We are now in 
the Palace of the late Emperor's widow; this must be 
she. Never have I seen so beautiful a face. Let no one 
lay hands on her. She must await our Chief's orders." 
But some declared that this was not the Goddess Chang 
— that she had fled in disguise and escaped — whilst others 
said she was dead. 

The rebels were still disputing as to her identity, while 
she sat silent, when some eunuchs entered with an elderly 
woman who was Li's personal attendant and who had 
been ordered by him to arrange the Palace concubines in 
batches, according to their age and beauty, for his in- 
spection. The eunuchs pointed out the Empress, saying : 
" That is the Goddess Chang, wife of the late Emperor." 
She was placed in the care of attendants, who tried to 
console her. " Lady Chang, do not be afraid," they 
said. " You are so beautiful that when our great Prince 
inspects the concubines to-morrow he will surely choose 
you for his Empress." 

In her grief and despair, the Empress felt as if her 
breast were being pierced by a myriad arrows, and she 
was wondering how she could contrive to kill herself, when 
a loud voice called out from the courtyard : " Where is 
the Empress Dowager, Goddess Chang? " This was one 
of the chief commanders of the rebels, named Li Yen. 
Before Peking had fallen, some of the eunuchs had gone 
over to the rebels, and had informed them of the where- 
abouts of the most beautiful women, whom they divided 
into three classes. 

Li Tzu-ch'eng had promised thirty concubines to each 
of his Generals, and a list of all the women in the Palace 
had been placed in Li Yen's hands. Li Yen was a licen- 
tiate of Honan Province who had joined the rebellion, a 
fluent expounder of moral philosophy. Seeing that the 

83 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Senior Empress's name was at the head of the Hst of 
women, he sighed deeply and said : " How dare these 
wretched eunuchs desecrate Her Majesty's name in this 
way? She stands too high for such disgrace. I, who 
come from her own province, must save her from this 
outrage." 

So he hurried into the Palace, and on finding her, bade 
two handmaidens lead her to one of the Throne rooms, 
where he assisted her to mount the dais. Li Yen then 
dressed himself in Court robes and made obeisance before 
her nine times. Placing her in the charge of attendants, 
he hurried away to find Li Tzu-ch'eng. That same evening 
she succeeded in killing herself. When they found her 
body, she was attired in black silk with gold embroidery 
and full sleeves ; her face was veiled with yellow crape and 
her hair neatly dressed; she looked like a woman of 
thirty. Those who saw the serenity of her face felt as if 
some heavenly visitant hovered near them, so happy 
was she in her death. 

Li Yen buried her in the courtyard of her Palace and 
did homage at her obsequies. Meanwhile, Li Tzu-ch'eng 
had given orders that the late Emperor and his Consort 
should be buried, but made no public announcement 
concerning the death of the Senior Empress. It was 
freely rumoured that she had been taken alive by one of 
the rebels. On the same day the concubine Jen ^ sur- 
rendered to Li Tzii-ch'eng, and to increase her own im- 
portance told him that she was the Senior Empress, the 
wife of Hsi Tsung. Li Tzu-ch'eng believed her, and later, 
on his retreat before the Manchus, took her with him. 
Thus it came to pass that in the Court of the fugitive 
Mings at Nanking calumnious tongues insulted this noble 
woman's memory, and it was noised abroad that she had 
become the mistress of the rebel Chief. 

There were still eunuchs and women at that Court who 
^ Vide supra, p. 67. 
84 






CJ 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

had been of the faction of Wei Chung-hsien and who were 
only too eager to besmirch her spotless reputation. The 
new Ming Emperor, Prince Fu, was in the hands of evil 
advisers and believed these cruel falsehoods, so that no 
canonisation was conferred upon her until the following 
year, when her death was undeniably confirmed. A 
eunuch eye-witness of her death described it to the 
Manchu Regent, Prince Jui, who gave orders that she 
should be buried beside her husband, at his mausoleum 
to the north of Peking. So came she to her honourable 
rest. 

After the dispersion of Li Tzii-ch'eng's force by the 
Manchus, the Jen concubine, who had accumulated great 
store of treasure from the Palace, moved to Wu T'ai 
Mountain, west of Peking, and her abode became the 
resort of many lawless characters. She still claimed to 
be the Empress Consort of Hsi Tsung, and in that capacity 
extorted money from the common people. Eventually 
complaints were lodged at Court, and she was arrested 
and brought to Peking. On her arrival there she declared 
she was indeed the Empress, and some there were who 
believed her. But the eunuchs of the Court had no 
difficulty in proving her to be a base pretender. The 
romantic chroniclers aver that she was compelled to try 
on one of the Goddess Chang's tiny shoes, before which 
test she failed ignominiously. Be this as it may, she was 
allowed to commit suicide, and thereafter the memory of 
" Precious Pearl," the illustrious and virtuous Empress, 
has shone undimmed throughout the centuries. 



85 



CHAPTER III 

LI TZtJ-CH'ENG'S REBELLION AND THE FALL 

OF PEKING 

The swift decline and pitiful end of the Ming dynasty 
was primarily due to the corruption and incompetence 
of its later Monarchs and to the licentiousness of their 
Court, which gave high office and the direction of State 
affairs to eunuchs. Its doom was plain- writ upon the 
wall for many years before the great rebellion of Li Tzu- 
ch'eng ended triumphantly in the Throne Hall of the 
Forbidden City, because, as one historian has put it, 
" the ruling house had ceased to display those moral 
qualities without which no power will long be tolerated 
by a people like the Chinese." 

There had been serious uprisings in various parts of 
the Empire — notably in Kueichou and Shantung — since 
the beginning of the seventeenth century; in 1622 the 
Dutch had appeared upon the scene, seizing the Pes- 
cadores and adding new terrors to the life of Chinese 
officials. In 1625, the rising power of Nurhachi and his 
Manchu armies had been signalised by the establish- 
ment of his capital at Moukden. But the position of the 
dynasty only became desperate Avhen, in 1641, Li Tzu- 
ch'eng's rebellion (which had been fitfully active for some 
ten years) assumed formidable proportions and, sweeping 
northwards, carried all before it. 

Li Tzii-ch'eng himself stands out as a picturesque 

86 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

figure against the lurid background of those days, a 
great soldier and something of a politician. Cruel, with 
all the ruthless ferocity of the Oriental, unscrupulous in 
love and war, full of the lust of power and wealth, he 
possessed, nevertheless, certain redeeming qualities — 
courage, and a capacity for sudden impulses of gener- 
osity. His most notable characteristic, common amongst 
fighting men of humble origin who have risen to the 
purple, was his belief in auguries, omens and portents. 
Many of the most momentous decisions of his career were 
the outcome of his superstitious beliefs and fears. 

He was born in Shensi, about the year 1606. Historians 
declare that in his early youth he had fore-knowledge of 
his great destiny. One of them narrates the following 
story. As a young man he was addicted to hunting and 
hawking, and would wander far afield with congenial 
spirits. One day, in the depth of winter, he found him- 
self with two intimate friends in a remote country district. 
As evening fell they sat under a tree to rest, and refreshed 
themselves with deep draughts of wine. A dust storm 
was raging. Suddenly Li turned to his friends and said : 
" Listen ! If the Imperial Throne is destined to be mine, 
a sign will be given us to-night in the shape of a heavy 
snowstorm." With this, he planted an arrow in the 
ground and added : "If Heaven is on my side let the 
snow be level with the top of this arrow." His friends 
replied : "If you become the Son of Heaven we are 
your men till death." Soon after, the sky began to 
darken and the wind fell. Snow began to fall gently, 
and gradually increased, until by midnight the top of 
the arrow could just be seen. Li and his friends, greatly 
impressed, walked home through the snow, and from that 
day his mind was fixed on the ambition to overturn the 
Ming dynasty. He turned brigand, and after eleven years 
of perilous adventures found himself at the head of a 
large army. 

87 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

To give another instance of the superstitions which 
continually influenced this born leader of men : in an 
engagement near the strategic pass at T'ung Kuan his 
left eye was pierced by an arrow. An ancient prophecy 
had predicted that the Empire would be conquered 
by a one-eyed man, and Li was therefore greatly 
elated at receiving this auspicious wound; indeed, the 
incident, widely discussed, brought many ncAV followers 
to his flag. 

And again, after the fall of Peking in 1644, Li Tzii-ch'eng 
entered the Forbidden City by the Southern, or Dynastic, 
Gate. On arriving at the main entrance, the " Gate of 
Heaven's Grace," as it was then called, he stopped and 
aimed an arrow at the character signifying " heaven," 
painted over the gateway, the conviction having suddenly 
seized him that if his shot were successful in hitting the 
mark, it would mean that Heaven approved of his 
mounting the Throne. His arrow lodged just below the 
character, and he and those with him took it for an 
omen that he had been rejected by the Most High, and 
that his victorious course was run. 

In 1641 Li Tzii-ch'eng, victoriously advancing, laid 
siege to Honan-fu. When his troops had completely 
invested the city, Prince Fu, the Emperor's uncle, whose 
fief was the province of Honan, summoned his generals 
to a banquet at his Palace, and they arranged to raise a 
force of a thousand volunteers, who would let themselves 
down by ropes from the city wall and make a successful 
night sortie. Dissolute and drunken as he was, the 
favourite son of Wan Li made a brave defence, until Li 
Tzu-ch'eng dehvered a surprise attack from the north, 
and overpowering the guards, took the city by assault. 
When all was confusion. Prince Fu had himself let down 
from the city wall and escaped in disguise to a neigh- 
bouring temple, but he was discovered and brought into 
the presence of Li Tzu-ch'eng. As he entered the camp 

88 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

he perceived the Commander of the city garrison in 
chains, who called to him and said : " Prince, a man in 
your exalted station has a duty to the State to fulfil; 
he must die bravely. Let not Your Highness bend the 
knee in submission to these dogs of rebels." Prince Fu 
made no reply, but when led before Li Tzu-ch'eng, refused 
to speak and was promptly dispatched. After killing 
him, Li mixed a cupful of his blood in a dish of hashed 
venison, and called it the " Red pottage of fortune and 
blessing," this being a pun on the Prince's name, which 
means " good fortune." He was ever a grim jester. 

His chief associate and fellow-rebel, almost as famous 
a guerrilla leader as Li himself, was Chang Hsien-chung, a 
Shensi Mahomedan, also a grim jester in his way. While 
Li was besieging Honan-fu, Chang possessed himself of 
the rich city of Hsiang-Yang, in Hupei. He won it by 
covering a hundred miles with a small force of cavalry 
in twenty-four hours, and surprising the garrison, whose 
scouts had reported the country free of rebels. Having 
taken possession of the city and burned the Prefect's 
yamen, he seized the person of Prince Hsiang, a cousin 
of the Emperor, and over-lord of Hupei. He brought 
him into the audience hall of his own Palace, and setting 
a beaker of wine before him, said : " I have no grudge 
against Your Highness, and you are a harmless person 
enough, but I have a fierce longing to see the head of 
General Yang separated from his body.^ But alas, Yang 
is not available at the moment, being far from here; and 
so I propose to make use of Your Highness's head instead. 
For if I now remove it, the Emperor, wrath at the killing 
of one of his own kinsmen, may see fit to order the death 
of Yang, who should have been able to prevent this 
abominable murder. Will Your Highness drink as much 
of the wine as you can carry? " He then put him to 

^ Yang Ssu-ch'ang was the Ming Commander-in-chief in Hupei, 
who had defeated Chang on more than one occasion. 

89 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

death and burned the body. The same ruffian is alleged 
by Chinese historians to have made a dish of a wife who 
had ceased to please him, putting into practice the 
proverb which says, " The favourite of to-day is served 
up at to-morrow's banquet." 

The news of the fall of Hsiang-Yang created dismay at 
Court. As Chang had foreseen, the Censors, trembling 
at the prospect of the approaching cataclysm, ordered 
that General Yang be put to death for failing to stem 
the rebellion, but he saved them the trouble by committing 
suicide. 

In the same year, 1641, Li Tzu-ch'eng laid siege to the 
great city of K'ai Feng-f u in Honan ; but its garrison made 
such a stout defence, and its fifty-feet wall was so im- 
pervious to his mining and artillery, that he was obliged 
to desist from the attempt. Early in 1643, having sub- 
jugated all the surrounding country, he made a close 
investment of the city, determined to take it at all costs. 
The siege lasted until September, and the garrison, being 
well supplied with food, showed no signs of yielding to 
the rebels. When at last the city fell, it brought no rich 
reward of booty to the conquerors, but only a harvest of 
death. Enraged by its stubborn resistance, and fearing 
the advance of a relieving force from Shensi, Li Tzii-ch'eng 
determined to flood the city by cutting the banks of the 
Yellow River. Curiously enough, the Commander of the 
garrison had conceived a similar plan for flooding the 
rebel camp, and had begun to sap the river's embank- 
ment at a spot favourable for that purpose. Li Tzii- 
ch'eng's spies warned him of the danger, upon which he 
moved his camp to higher ground and made large provision 
of boats and rafts for his army. Having done this, he 
compelled the country people for miles around to cut away 
the embankments at Nia Chia-k'ou. Over a hundred 
thousand of these unfortunates perished when the river, 
swollen by heavy rains, finally burst its banks, and so 

90 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

fierce was the flood that ten thousand of the rebels were 
drowned. It entered K'ai Feng-fu by the northern gate 
and carried swift destruction throughout the city. Of a 
population estimated at over a million, scarcely a tenth 
escaped. The Governor and some of the higher officials 
saved themselves in boats, and several Princes with their 
wives and concubines took refuge in a tower on the wall, 
where they nearly died of starvation before rescuing 
parties reached them. When Li Tzii-ch'eng entered the 
city in a boat, he found no opportunity for plunder or 
reprisals. 

From Honan, Li marched into Shensi, regaling his 
troops Vvdth three days of looting and rapine at Hsi-an. 
Here, clad in Imperial dragon robes, he reviewed his 
forces, while the citizens knelt at his passing. Thence 
he proceeded to his native place and offered sacrifice at 
his ancestral tombs, which had been desecrated by the 
Imperial authorities. On the first day of the new year 
(1644) he assumed the Imperial title of Yung Ch'ang, as 
the founder of the " Great Obedient " dynasty; he also 
canonised his ancestors for four generations as Emperors 
in the realms above. He would have taken this step at 
a much earlier date had it not been that he had doubts 
as to the possible rivalry of his old colleague and fellow- 
rebel, Chang, who was believed to cherish schemes of 
establishing a kingdom of his own. But Chang now sent 
rich gifts to Li and a letter acknowledging him as Emperor. 
So Li took heart of grace and proceeded to make for 
himself a new nobility and a Court; he appointed six 
ministries, with presidents and their staffs, and created 
nine marquises, seventy-two earls, thirty viscounts and 
fifty-five barons. At this time his army consisted of 
600,000 cavalry and 400,000 infantry. He sent Imperial 
mandates throughout the country denouncing the Ming 
Emperor, in these terms : " His Majesty, the present 
Emperor, cannot be called an utter fool. He stands 

91 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

alone, but the oppression of his officials is like unto the 
heat of a burning fiery furnace. His Ministers serve only 
their own selfish ends and form conspiracies among them- 
selves. Loyal men are few and far between. The prisons 
are full of unfortunate captives, and the officials are devoid 
of gratitude for favours received. The people are so 
oppressed by their exactions, that in their misery they 
abandon their homes." 

New Year's Day 1644 in Peking dawned darkly under 
a fierce dust-storm, and an earthquake occurred at Feng 
Yang in Anhui, near to the birthplace of the founder of 
the dynasty. The Court was in despair. The Grand 
Secretary Li Chien-ta'i, a native of Shansi, who had made 
an enormous fortune as owner of the well-known Ssii Tu- 
heng banking-house (which still exists), came forward at 
audience and proposed to place his wealth at the service 
of the Throne and to lead an army in person against the 
rebels in his native province. The news of Li Tzu-ch'eng's 
assumption of the Imperial title had come as a great 
shock to the Monarch, who sorrowfully remarked to Li 
Chien-t'ai : " My conscience is clear. I have not deserved 
to forfeit the mandate of Heaven; nevertheless, ruin 
confronts me on all sides, and the Empire is slipping from 
me. The inheritance which my ancestors won, after being 
' combed by the wind and bathed in the rain,' is rapidly 
being lost. How can I bear to face them in the next 
world? Gladly would I march to battle at the head of 
my army and perish on the sandy plain. How can I 
ever close my eyes in peaceful death while the Empire 
is in a ferment? " At this the Monarch burst into tears. 
Thereupon all the Grand Secretaries present asked to be 
allowed to lead the army into battle in his place (a task 
which they were no more fitted to undertake than the 
Sovereign). The Emperor refused, whereupon Li Chien- 
t'ai again kotowed and said : " I am ready to pay all the 
expenses of the army and to march on the rebels." 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

Ch'ung-chen thanked him warmly : " I myself shall see 
you off on your journey, as ancient custom prescribes." 
He bestowed upon him an Imperial sword and full powers 
in the field. 

After a few days of preparation, the Emperor repaired 
to the Temple of Ancestors and informed the august shades 
of his decision ; then he ascended to the top of the tower 
at the Ch'ien Men facing the Palace. The troops made a 
brave show, drawn up in line extending from the entrance 
to the Forbidden City as far as the Temple of Heaven. 
The whole Court was in attendance and the musicians 
played martial airs. His Majesty gave a banquet after 
the review, at which he presided, and passed the wine 
round seven times. Thrice he pledged the health of Li 
Chien-ta'i in a golden beaker, and handed to him a 
patent inscribed : " Acting as Generalissimo on Our 
Imperial behalf." 

The troops then marched off, and the Emperor watched 
them leave the city. A little way beyond the city gates 
Li Chien-t'ai's sedan-chair pole broke, which was regarded 
as an evil omen. The expedition was a dismal failure. 
Long before it had reached Shansi the rebels had captured 
Li's native city and had looted most of his family treasure. 
Many of his troops died of starvation on the way. 

Meanwhile, Li Tzii-ch'eng was marching northwards 
through Shansi, had crossed the Yellow River without 
opposition, and laid siege to T'ai Yuan-fu. The Governor 
made a gallant resistance, but the city was betrayed to 
the rebels by one of his staff. 

Li Tzu-ch'eng entered Prince Chin's Palace and cap- 
tured the wretched Prince (a descendant of Yung lo). 
Him he slew, together with forty-six high officials. On 
hearing the news, the Emperor issued a pitiful decree 
deploring the calamities inflicted on his people by the 
rebellion, as well as the inefficiency of his officials and 
his own lack of virtue in governing. " In the watches 

93 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

of the night," he said, " I mourn over these things and 
my self-abasement knows no hmit. From this time forth 
I am determined to turn over a new leaf and to avert the 
consequences of my errors. I mean to strengthen our 
resources by employing able men in office, and by adher- 
ence to time-honoured tradition to depart from evil. By 
merciful forbearance I intend to win my subjects' love, 
and by remitting unjust taxation to make good their lack 
of funds. I command that lists be drawn up of all 
worth}^ and honest men who in the past may have been 
dismissed from office, so that they may be reinstated. 
To any member of the local gentry who shall re-capture 
a city from the rebels I will grant hereditary rank. To 
all who return to their allegiance and repent them of 
their sins I promise pardon and high rank ; while any one 
who may capture the rebels Li Tzii-ch'eng and Chang 
Hsien-chung will receive from me a marquisate and 
corresponding official rank." 

" The Devil was sick," but the time for issuing such 
decrees was past; nothing could now save the doomed 
dynasty. When a first detachment of rebels entered 
Chihli and captured Ho Chien-fu the Court dispatched 
the eunuch Tu Hsiin to the Chihli frontier at Hsiian-hua 
to stop their advance from that side. This was a fatal 
step, for Tu was a c6ward and a traitor. He had already 
advised the Emperor to surrender, saying : " You had 
better abdicate, you and I will have plenty to live upon 
in retirement." With this powerful eunuch at the head 
of military affairs, interfering in matters of which he was 
profoundly ignorant, the situation was desperate, but 
none dared to oppose him. 

A Censor now advised him to send the Heir Apparent 
to Nanking, and to place his other two sons, the Princes 
Ting and Yung, in charge of the defence of Ning-kuo and 
Tai-ping in Anhui, near the birthplace of the ancestors 
of the dynasty. While perusing this memorial the 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

Emperor walked nervously round the Palace grounds, 
sighing and muttering to himself. He had made up his 
mind to agree, when one of the Grand Secretaries told 
him that the scheme was bruited abroad and was creating 
a bad impression. The wretched Emperor again hesitated, 
and finally said : "It is the duty of the Sovereign and 
his family to die for the State. I shall order the Princes 
to remain in Peking." Urgent messages were sent to 
Wu San-kuei to defend Shan Hai-kuan and to dispatch 
all the troops he could spare to the metropolis. 

On arrival at Ning Wu-fu, a city of Shansi situated just 
inside the Great Wall, Li Tzu-ch'eng sent forward a herald 
to announce that all its inhabitants would be put to the 
sword unless the city surrendered within five days. 
General Chou Yii-chi, who had retreated hither from 
Ping Yang, made use of cannon which had been cast 
by the Jesuit priests, and did great execution amongst 
the rebels. When his gunpowder was almost exhausted, 
and the assault continued with undiminished vigour, his 
men tried to persuade him to surrender. The old General 
angrily replied : " Why such cowards ? If you win the 
day you will gain great glory, as brave and loyal men. 
When you find you can hold out no longer, all you have 
to do is to bind me and hand me over to the rebels. You 
can blame me for holding out so long." His troops were 
ashamed and proceeded to lay an ambush for the rebels 
by posting a few men at certain gates and then opening 
them to the enemy. In marched the rebels, whereupon 
the defenders closed the barriers at the end of certain 
streets, caught them in a trap, and slaughtered them in 
thousands. But Li Tzu-ch'eng continued to bombard 
the city walls with cannon; as one portion collapsed, the 
breach was hurriedly repaired by the defenders. Four 
of Li Tzii-ch'eng's bravest lieutenants were slain, and Li 
had almost made up his mind to retreat, when his aide- 
de-camp protested, saying : " We outnumber them by a 

95 



..L 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

hundred to one ; if we persist, in spite of our losses, victory 
is certain. It would be so even if the odds were only ten 
to one." 

Li Tzu-ch'eng was only too willing, and urged his men 
on. As one company was wiped out another pressed 
forward to take its place. When the corpses were piled 
ten feet high the garrison was exhausted and the city 
fell. General Chou Yii-chi refused to yield; he directed 
the street fighting until his horse was killed, whereupon 
he rushed headlong among the rebels, killing several 
before they captured him, pierced through and through 
with arrows as numerous as the quills on the porcupine. 
Still he resisted them, so Li Tzii-ch'eng had him tied to 
a lofty beam and shot at with arrows until he died, after 
which his corpse was decapitated. His wife and hand- 
maidens fled to a small guard house on the Great Wall 
and from there shot arrows at the rebels, who set fire to 
the building. All of them perished in the flames. No 
one in the city surrendered : all were put to death. 

When Li appeared before the gates of Ta T'ung-fu, 
General Chiang Hsiung and the treacherous eunuch 
Commander-in-chief, Tu Hsiin, agreed to surrender, though 
the Governor, Wei Ching-yuan, and his army had taken 
a solemn oath, consecrated, in accordance with ancient 
custom, by the blood of a sheep smeared on the lips, 
that they would hold out to the death. When the rebels 
arrived, Chiang Hsiung' s men, some of whom were posted 
at each gate, treacherously surrendered the city. Governor 
Wei on horseback rushed forward, but seeing that he had 
been betrayed allowed himself to be taken. They led 
him to Li Tzu-ch'eng, who offered him official rank. Wei 
sat down instead of kneeling in his presence, and called 
out : " May the Emperor live for ever ! " Then he wept. 
Li praised his loyalty, saying : " I will never slay so brave 
a man." Governor Wei then rose and dashed his head 
against the stone balustrade. The blood poured forth, 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

and the rebels took him away. Meeting the traitor, 
General Chiang, he reviled him, saying : " Accursed rebel, 
you have violated the solemn oath which you took before 
the Almighty; God will reward you according to your 
crime." Then the rebels brought in his mother, who was 
over eighty years of age, to induce him to yield. He said : 
" Mother, you are very old and must do as you think 
best. I, your son, am a Minister of State, and death is 
the only way for me." His mother was led away, and 
he said to the bystanders : " I will curse the rebels no 
more, in the hope that they will spare my mother's life." 
He hanged himself in a Buddhist shrine, and the rebels 
praised his loyal courage. They provided shelter for his 
wife and family and bade his mother join them. Then 
they put to death all of the Imperial family who were in 
the city. 

When the news reached Peking, Li Chien-t'ai (who had 
returned from his inglorious expedition) advised the 
Emperor to flee to Nanking. Ch'ung Chen called his 
Ministers to an audience on the Palace terrace, and after 
telling them of this advice said : " The Sovereign must 
die for the Altars of the Tutelary Deities; whither should 
I flee?" 

One of the most loyal and upright of his Ministers was 
the Grand Secretary Chiang Te-ying. In the early stages 
of the rebellion he had advised an active policy against 
Li, and had remonstrated with the Emperor for taxing 
the people so heavily to provide funds for a non-existent 
army. 

At the audience on the terrace, Chiang again advised 
that the Heir Apparent should be sent to Nanking, and 
recommended that a decree be issued, beginning as follows : 
" Of late, evil-minded persons have been collecting unjust 
taxes on the pretext of providing army fimds, so that 
our subjects have been cruelly oppressed and the interests 
of our State have been placed in jeopardy." When the 
u 97 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Emperor heard this preamble, he became very angry and 
said : " I have only raised these taxes in order to pay 
my troops and not for my own benefit." Chiang replied : 
" I am aware of this, Your Majesty, but the taxation is 
very heavy, and I venture to ask you, is the proportionate 
number of men and horses forthcoming? The Viceroy 
of Chichou should have 45,000 troops; he has only 
25,000. The Viceroy of Pao Ting-fu should have 30,000; 
he has 2,000. And so it is with the garrisons around 
the capital; the money has all been wasted and misap- 
propriated." 

The Emperor was very wrath, and accused Chiang of 
conspiring against him, so the Minister tendered his 
resignation. Ch'ung chen intended to punish him, but 
he escaped when the city fell. Hoping against hope, the 
Emperor now conferred an earldom on Wu San-kuei and 
bade him hurry to the defence of the capital. The eunuch 
Wang Ch'eng-en was made Commander-in-chief of Peking 
and placed in charge of its defences. 

The Governor of Hsiian-hua, Chu Chih-feng, an Imperial 
clansman, had prepared to defend the city; but the 
eunuch Tu Hsiin and General Wang Ch'eng-yiin sent him 
word to surrender. Tu went in person to call on Chu 
Chih-feng and advised him to submit, but Chu refused 
to listen to him. When the rebels appeared, Tu Hsiin 
donned his Court robes and dragon jacket and went out 
to meet Li Tzu-ch'eng ten miles beyond the city. The 
garrison dispersed, whereupon Chu mounted the city wall, 
accompanied only by a few retainers. The rebels entered 
the gates, which had been opened by the eunuchs. Li 
had issued notices that no one was to be massacred, and 
promised remission of taxation and corvees, so the people 
were in high spirits. The streets were decked with bunting 
and festooned arches had been erected to welcome the 
conquerors. Incense was burnt as Li Tzii-ch'eng entered. 

General Chu's servants endeavoured to persuade him 

98 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

to seek a place of safety, but he upbraided them and 
prostrated himself in the direction of Peking in obeisance 
to the Emperor. Then he hastily wrote out a valedictory 
memorial, in which he implored His Majesty to stimulate 
his subjects to patriotism and loyalty; after which he 
hanged himself on a beam. The rebels flung his corpse 
into a ditch, but though the dogs devoured the other 
dead bodies, they left his untouched. 

Six days later Chii Yen-kuan was taken by the rebels, 
and that long-guarded frontier was successfully passed. 
Li Tzu-ch'eng had now entered the plain north of Peking, 
and was only thirty miles from the capital. He proceeded 
to the sacred enclosure containing the ancestral mausolea, 
plundered their contents, and set many of the stately halls 
on fire. His spies were all over Peking, and many mer- 
chants and officials in his pay sent him daily word of the 
Ming preparations. Some of his confidential agents were 
actually serving on the Board of War, and every decision 
of the Throne was at once communicated to him by 
special courier. On the other hand, the spies sent out 
by the Board of War were captured by Li's patrols and 
none returned to Peking. Thus Li's advance guard 
reached the central West Gate of the capital before his 
approach was even suspected. 

The Emperor summoned his Council; all were silent 
and some wept. The bombardment began. Three regi- 
ments which had been placed outside the gate fled at the 
rebels' approach, only a few guards remained to man the 
walls. Li Tzii-ch'eng moved to the Chang-yi Gate, about 
a mile and a half further South, and established his 
quarters just outside the enceinte. Here he was attended 
by the eunuch traitor Tu Hsiin ; the latter shot a message 
in a quill on to the city wall, where it was picked up by 
the guard. It was a letter to the Emperor, stating that 
the rebels must win, and advising His Majesty to commit 
suicide. This was handed to Ch'ung Chen, who thereupon 

99 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

issued a penitential decree and again decreed that all 
extra taxation should cease forthwith. He then ordered 
his son-in-law, Kung Yung-ku, to send a body of retainers 
with the Heir Apparent to Nanking. Kung kotowed 
and said : " It is the rule that relations of the Emperor 
should keep no arms in their residence; alas ! I have 
no retainers for the mission." The two men wept together. 

The rebels scaled the wall of the Southern city with 
ladders, and took possession of the quarter inside the 
Chang-yi Gate. Other detachments bombarded the three 
gates of the Tartar city. The guard fled, and the eunuchs 
in command cravenly surrendered to the rebels. At this 
critical moment the folly of trusting to these myrmidons 
was fully proved, and the wisdom justified of the founder 
of the dynasty who forbade that they should be allowed 
to meddle in affairs of State. There were between three 
and four thousand of them in the Forbidden City, osten- 
sibly charged with the duty of defending it and the 
Emperor, but of these one only, the eunuch Wang Ch'eng- 
en, was faithful even unto death. The rest spent the last 
days before the coming of the rebels either in rioting and 
feasting or in burying their treasures and making ready 
for flight. On the very day that Li Tzii-ch'eng captured 
the first gate of the outer city, one of the Chief Eunuchs 
was giving a theatrical entertainment at his residence 
just outside the Ch'ien Men. As for the officials, the 
loyal and the good were, for the most part, so indignant 
at the eunuchs' supremacy in the counsels of the Emperor, 
and so certain of disaster, that they prepared to perish 
with the dynasty, as the Confucian traditions prescribe. 
The licentious and ignoble continued their feastings as 
before. 

On the 4th day of the 3rd Moon, the Court of As- 
tronomers had handed in a memorial, saying that the 
Emperor's star was being displaced, and His Majesty 
issued one of his futile decrees, calling upon his officials 

100 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

to repent them of evil. Yet he took not the brave and 
loyal into his favour and confidence, the men who later 
died for him at the post of duty. The spirit of his degen- 
erate Court was fittingly displayed in the words of a 
couplet which some one wrote upon the Palace wall. "If 
this dynasty's star has waned, let us hitch our fortunes 
on to its successor." 

The Emperor now realised that the position was hope- 
less, and that it was too late to strengthen the city's 
defences. On the 17th of the 3rd Moon, the rebels at- 
tacked the North- West Gate. The Palace officials came 
to report to His Majesty, who summoned all the Grand 
Council to a secret audience at the Terrace Pavilion. 
The Emperor asked the advice of Wu Tsao-te, who could 
make no reply, but hung his head in forlorn silence. See- 
ing them all helpless, the Emperor, in a rage, flung his 
dragon chair to the ground and left the Pavilion. He 
went from the Palace on to the Coal Hill. It was now 
evening, and the smoke of the rebels' beacon fires was 
visible on all sides of the city. For a long while the 
wretched Monarch stood there, lamenting his peoples' 
sufferings and his own. 

Next morning, long before dawn, the rebels attacked the 
Western Gate of the Southern city, and the eunuch Tsao, 
who was in charge, surrendered it to the enemy. The 
rebels poured in, speedily captured the Ch'ien Men, and 
advanced upon the Forbidden City. 

The Emperor ordered that the Heir Apparent and his 
younger brother be removed to a place of safety. When 
they came to take leave of their father they were dressed 
in their usual Court attire. Sorrowfully the Emperor 
regarded them : " How is it that at a time like this you 
are arrayed in robes of luxury? " Then he commanded 
a eunuch to bring two suits of old and shabby clothes, 
and with his own hands assisted his sons to tie their 
girdles. " To-day," said he to the elder, " you are Heir 

101 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

to the Throne; to-morrow you will be one of the people, 
homeless, and a wanderer on the face of the earth. Reveal 
not your names and dissemble as best you may. Address 
your elders with respect as " good sir," and call strangers 
" uncle " or " kind cousin." If, perchance, your lives 
should be spared, remember in time to come to 
avenge the wrongs which your parents have suffered. 
Forget not these my words." He ended, and the lads 
were led away. 

He then commanded them to bring wine, of which he 
drank a considerable quantity. Summoning his Empress 
Consort (who was of the Chou family) and the concubines, 
he addressed them, saying : " All is over. It is time for 
you to die." The senior concubine, Lady Yiian, on 
hearing these words, rose in terror from her knees and 
tried to escape, but His Majesty pursued her with a 
sword. Shouting : " You too must die," he wounded 
her in the shoulder. She continued to run, but the 
Emperor thrust at her a second time, whereat she fell, 
weltering in blood. The Empress Consort fled to her 
Palace of Feminine Tranquillity, and there hanged herself. 

Next, the Emperor summoned the Princess Imperial 
from the Palace of Peaceful Old Age. She was only just 
fifteen years of age. Wildly he glared at her, saying : 
" By what evil fortune were you born into our ill-starred 
house ? " Seizing his sword, he hacked off her right 
arm, and she sank dying to the floor. He then went to 
the pavilion of Charity Made Manifest and there killed 
his second daughter, the Princess of Feminine Propriety. 
Finally, he sent eunuchs to greet in his name the Empress 
Consort, and to the senior concubines of his late brother, 
Hsi Tsung, strongly advising both to commit suicide.^ 
Entering the Palace of Feminine Tranquillity, he saw his 
Consort hanging dead from the rafters, whereat he cried 
aloud : " Death is best, the only way for us all." 

^ Vide supra, p. 82. 
102 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

It was now nearly 5 a.m. and the dawn was breaking. 
The Emperor changed his apparel and removed his long 
Imperial robe. The bell rang in the Palace for the 
morning audience, but none attended. The Emperor 
donned a short dragon- embroidered tunic and a robe of 
purple and yellow, and his left foot was bare. Accom- 
panied by the faithful eunuch Wang Ch'eng-en, he left 
the Palace by the Gate of Divine Military Prowess, and 
entered the Coal Hill enclosure. Gazing sorrowfully 
upon the city, he wrote, on the lapel of his robe, a 
valedictory decree : " I, feeble and of small virtue, have 
offended against Heaven; the rebels have seized my 
capital because my Ministers deceived me. Ashamed 
to face my ancestors, I die. Removing my Imperial cap 
and with my hair dishevelled about my face, I leave to 
the rebels the dismemberment of my body. Let them 
not harm my people ! " Then he strangled himself in 
the pavilion known as the " Imperial Hat and Girdle 
Department," and the faithful eunuch did likewise. ^ 

Before the Emperor had committed suicide, most of 
the concubines had fled from out the Palace. One of 
them, the Lady Wei, on reaching the Imperial Canal, 
cried out : " All who are not cowards will follow my 
example," and jumped in. Some two hundred women 
of the Palace committed suicide. A certain handmaiden, 
named Fei, jumped into a disused well which was dry. 
The rebels pulled her out, and seeing that she was fair 
to look upon tried to take her. Haughtily she said : 
" I am the Princess Imperial." Awed by her words they 
desisted, and led her to Li Tzu-ch'eng. The latter ordered 
the eunuchs to identify her. As they all said that she 
was not the Princess, Li presented her to one of his 
captains, named Lo. Fei had the whip hand of him 

^ The usual account that he hanged himself to a tree is certainly 
incorrect, though until quite recently the chain which he is supposed 
to have used was suspended there. 

103 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

also, saying : " Really and truly I am of Imperial lineage, 
and too high in rank to enter into an illegal or temporary 
union with you. Your Excellency must espouse me in 
lawful wedlock. I beg you to select an auspicious date 
for the ceremony." Lo was only too delighted, and set 
wine before her, of which he himself drank heartily. Fei 
waited until he was completely intoxicated, then took a 
stiletto and stabbed him fatally in the throat. As he 
lay dying, she cried out : "I, a weak woman, have slain 
a rebel leader. I am content." With that she cut her 
throat, and when Li heard of the deed he ordered that 
she should have honourable burial. 

Meanwhile, Li Tzu-ch'eng had entered the Palace. By 
his order two door panels were brought, and the Emperor's 
body, with that of his attendant, was carried to a shop 
inside the Tung-hua Gate. Here the remains were laid 
for three days, after which eunuchs were ordered to 
array the Emperor in Imperial robes and to dress his 
hair, before laying him in his coffin. The people were 
allowed to pay their respects, and many did so, but few 
of the official class ventured to do obeisance to their old 
master, for fear of attracting Li Tzii-ch'eng's suspicions. 
In fact, many made a long detour on their way to the 
Palace in order to avoid passing the coffin. 

On the 3rd of the 4th Moon, the Emperor and his 
Consort were temporarily buried in the grave of the T'ien 
concubine, but only eunuchs and peasants witnessed the 
burial. Later, when Li Tzu-ch'eng had been defeated 
and the Manchus had entered Peking, their Regent, the 
Prince Jui, ordered the building of an Imperial mausoleum 
and prescribed three days of general mourning. But, for 
the present, the last of the Ming Emperors went to his 
eternal rest unhonoured. An account of the burial 
ceremony was subsequently made to the Manchu Regent 
by the minor official who carried it out under orders from 
the rebel Prefect of Peking, as follows : 

104 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" On the 25th of the 3rd Moon ^ I received orders from 
Li Hsi-chang, styHng himself Prefect of the city, that we 
were to inter their late Majesties in the grave chamber 
of the late concubine, the Lady T'ien, and that I was to 
engage labourers to open up the passage leading thereto, 
whose wages would be paid out of public funds. On the 
1st day of the 4th Moon I therefore engaged thirty 
bearers for the Imperial coffin and sixteen for that of 
the Empress, and arranged for their conveyance to 
Ch'ang P'ing-chou. The preliminary obsequies were 
fixed for three days later, and the actual interment took 
place on the 5th. The departmental treasury was quite 
empty, and as the Secretary of Li Tzu-ch'eng's Board of 
Ceremonies (responsible for the due performance of the 
ceremony) refused to provide any funds, I was obliged 
to collect subscriptions from charitable persons. Thanks 
to the generosity of two worthies, I obtained the sum of 
340 tiao.^ So I set to work to open up the grave-tunnel, 
which was 135 feet long by 20 feet wide and 35 feet high. 
We worked for three days and nights, and early on the 
morning of the fourth day we came upon the stone gate 
opening into a grave ante-chamber. The workmen were 
obliged to force the lock before we could enter. Inside 
we found a lofty hall containing sacrificial vessels and 
many ornaments. In the centre was a stone vessel, 
whereon stood enormous candles of walrus fat.^ 

" Next, we opened the central tunnel gate, and found 
ourselves within a much larger hall, in the centre of which 
stood a stone couch 1 foot 5 inches high and 10 feet 
broad. On it lay the coffin of the Lady T'ien, covered 
with silk drapery. 

*' At 3 p.m., the coffins of their Majesties arrived at the 
entrance to the mausoleum, and were sheltered for the 

^ That is, seven days after the capture of Peking. 

- At that time about £6. 

2 The so-called " everlasting lamps." 

105 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

night in a temporary mat-shed which I had erected. 
We offered sacrifice of a bullock, gold and silver paper, 
grain and fruits. At the head of the few officials present 
I proceeded to pay homage to our departed Sovereign, 
and we wept bitterly at the foot of the Imperial biers. 

" Next day, the two coffins were borne through the tunnel 
and into the grave chamber. We placed them on the 
stone couch, from which we had first removed the coffin 
of Lady T'ien. We then deposited the coffin of the 
Empress on the left of the couch, the Lady T'ien's remains 
were replaced on the right, and lastly, His Majesty's coffin 
was lifted into the central place. The Lady T'ien's death 
had occurred at a time of peace, and her coffin had con- 
sequently been provided with the customary outer shell, 
but there had been no means of preparing one in the 
present case for His Majesty. So I had the shell of the 
Lady T'ien's coffin removed and used to cover that of 
the Emperor. 

"The obsequies having ended, we refilled the tunnel, 
banking up the earth so as to conceal the approach to 
the door leading into the grave chamber. On the following 
morning, the 6th, we offered libations of wine, and I had 
a mound erected over the grave by the peasants from 
neighbouring hamlets, besides building a clay wall five 
feet high round th6 enclosure." 

Thus passed the last Ming Sovereign from the Dragon 
Throne. On the morning of his death (the 19th), just 
before noon, Li Tzu-ch'eng, mounted on a piebald horse, 
rode in through the Gate of Obedience to Heaven, attended 
by his Grand Secretary, the rebel Niu Chin-hsing, and 
Sung Ch'i-chiao, President of the Ministry of Civil Offices. 
The Chief Eunuchs with a large following had met him 
outside the city gate and escorted him into the Palace. 
He took his seat on the Throne in the Hall of Imperial 
Supremacy, and bade search be made for their Majesties, 
the news of their death not having yet reached him. 

106 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Some of the eunuchs brought forward the Heir Apparent 
and his two brothers, the Princes Yung and Ting, who 
had been found concealed with the family of the Lady 
T'ien. Li announced that on the 21st he would hold a 
Court reception, at which all the highest Ming officials 
must attend; on the 20th he busied himself in super- 
intending the provision of quarters for his troops. 

At daybreak on the 21st, the Imperial Duke Chu 
Shun-ch'en (in whom the late Emperor had placed his 
trust) and the Grand Secretaries Wei Tsao-te and Ch'en 
Yen led a melancholy procession of officials to the space 
in front of the Throne Hall. All were wearing their 
civilian clothes, not daring to don Court dress. Li 
Tzu-ch'eng did not condescend even to notice their 
congratulations. The rebels crowded round them and 
jeered, some prodding them playfully in the back with 
swords, while others made them kneel, and kicked them 
in the neck or pulled off their hats. The wretched 
officials dared not protest or resist, and tamely submitted 
to these insults in silence. The Grand Secretary Ch'en 
Yen then sought to curry favour by inviting Li Tzii-ch'eng 
to ascend the Imperial Throne.^ 

Li proceeded without delay to establish his authority 
and reorganise the Government. He gave to the Heir 
Apparent the title of Prince Sung, released all officials 
who had been imprisoned by the Mings, and promulgated 
a new official system. He changed the six Boards into 
Ministries, altered the constitution of the Censorate, and 
converted the Hanlin Academy into the " Institution of 
Elegant Literature." The old name for a Governor of 
Province was restored, and the division of the provincial 
administration into prefectures, departments and coun- 
ties was simplified. All the changes which he made 
revealedjpractical wisdom. 

^ He had assumed the Imperial title at Hsi-an, but could not con- 
sider himself Emperor de jure until he had been enthroned at Peking. 

107 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Thereafter he condescended to receive the Ming officials. 
Sitting with his face to the South, and attended by his two 
Chief Lieutenants, he bade each advance in answer to the 
roll call. He divided them into three classes; all the 
lower officials gladly accepted their new ranks. In the 
higher ranks, only Hou Hsiin was permitted to retain 
his former position of Vice-president; all the rest were 
degraded one or more steps. All alike knelt in anxious 
expectation, eager to receive employment from their new 
master. He was now to show them something of his 
quality. 

First, he promulgated a code of regulations ordering 
that every family in Peking should board and lodge one 
rebel. There was nothing said against looting and rape, 
so that for the next few days the rebels indulged in a 
carnival of slaughter, and thousands of the defenceless 
citizens committed suicide. 

Next, he appointed ninety-two of the renegade Ming 
officials to serve under his henchman Sung Ch'i-chiao, in 
the Ministry of Civil Offices. But scarcely had they 
placed themselves at Sung's disposition than they were 
compelled to give effect to a decree ordering the arrest 
and imprisonment of eight hundred officials, including 
members of the late Imperial family and many who had 
tendered their submission. These unfortunate wretches 
were sent in batches to the camp of Li's Commander-in- 
chief, Liu Tsung-min, to undergo torture by the squeezing 
board and to be severely beaten, until they disclosed the 
hiding-places of their wealth. One of the proscribed, a 
libationer of the Confucian Academy, was lying on a bed 
of sickness, but he was bound in chains and beaten till 
he died. The squeezing apparatus was then applied to 
his wife until her fingers were broken. She confessed 
where their money had been buried; 7000 taels were dug 
up and handed to Li Tzii-ch'eng. He was much impressed 
by the largeness of the amount and exclaimed : " Fancy 

108 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

a humble literary man being so well-to-do ! " The 
result of the torturing in this case caused him to issue 
a decree ordering that all these officials should be 
tortured. The ransoms, which he extracted from the 
proscribed, were fixed at Tls. 100,000 for a Grand Secre- 
tary; Tls. 70,000 for high officers of the Household; 
Tls. 50,000 from Supervising Censors; Tls. 20,000 for 
Hanlin Doctors, and so on down the scale to the lowest 
mandarins. Members of the Imperial family were 
squeezed of the uttermost farthing and then put to death. 

But not all the Ministers and courtiers of the wretched 
Ch'ung-Chen were cowards and renegades ; helpless though 
they were to serve or to save him, there were many 
officials and scholars, even in those degenerate times, 
who loyally upheld the stoic tradition of the Confucian 
philosophy, and preferred death to dishonour. Many 
instances might be cited of their splendid courage and 
dignity in misfortune, but we must content ourselves 
with selecting two or three of those which chiefly appeal 
to the admiration of their countrymen.^ 

On hearing of the death of the Emperor, the Board 
President Yi Yuan-lu, a native of Chekiang, hastened to 
the Palace in full Court dress and wrote on a desk the 
following : " The capital should be removed to Nanking; 
my duty is to die. Do not wrap me in grave clothes; 
let my corpse be exposed. Those who understand will 
pity." Then, sitting with his face to the South, he strangled 
himself with his girdle. Thirteen members of his family 
committed suicide on that day. 

The President of the Censorate, Li Pang-hua, ascended 
the city wall with some other Censors, but the eunuchs 

^ It is interesting to reflect that the Japanese samurai's hara-kiri, 
with all its noble traditions of chivalry, loyalty, high courage, and 
solemn ceremonial, owes its origin to the canons of the Chinese Sages, 
in whose philosophy lies the very soul of the East, and which can still 
inspire moral heroism in a race generally unwarlike and devoid of 
loyalty. 

109 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

drove them back. Hearing that the outer city had 
fallen he repaired to the shrine of the Patriots of the 
Dynasty, and when the rebels had entered the inner city 
he bowed before the tablets of those enshrined in the 
temple, saying : " In the hour of my country's disaster 
I here commit suicide, asking permission to attend to 
you, worthy gentlemen, at the Nine Springs." Then he 
wrote out some valedictory verses and hanged himself. 

Ling Yi-ch'ii, a Director of the Court of Revision, 
hearing that the Emperor was dead, burst into loud 
lamentation and dashed his head against a pillar. The 
blood poured from his wounded face, and a disciple 
came to urge him that his duty was to live. Ling reproved 
the young man : " You ought to give me the kind of 
advice that an honest man might follow. How can you 
wish me to prolong existence? " He motioned to him 
to depart ; then, gathering round him his favourite books, 
he burnt them all, saying : '^ You at least shall not 
be defiled by the rebels." He dressed himself in his 
Court robes, put on his badge of office, wrote a last letter 
to his father, and committed suicide. 

The Director of the Court of Sacrificial Worship, Wu 
Len-cheng, was on duty at the Hsi-chih Gate; a party 
of rebels advanced and sought admittance, pretending 
that they were loyal troops. The eunuch commander 
was for opening the gate, but Wu refused to allow it. 
He barricaded the enceinte with stones and earth, and 
at night descended from the wail with a party of volun- 
teers, dealing destruction in the rebel ranks. When the 
city fell he entered a shrine and wrote to his family, 
bidding them use a common black cloth to cover his 
remains, and hanged himself. Wu had always advised 
the Emperor to recall Wu San-kuei from Ning Yiian, 
as the danger from the rebels was more pressing than 
from the Manchus. When too late, Ch'ung Chen regretted 
that he had not followed this good advice. 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

The Censor, Ch'en Liang-mi, a Ningpo man, was 
childless, but a concubine whom he had bought only 
six months before was enceinte. He called her to him 
and said : " I am about to die, but you will soon give 
birth to a child; get you to your parents' house." The 
concubine, weeping, made answer : "If you mean to die, 
is it not my bounden duty to join you in death? At a 
time like this it were better that my child should not be 
born." Her husband rejoined : " Must it be so? " The 
concubine, aged eighteen, then hanged herself, and he 
followed her. 

The Marquis Liu Wen-ping, a nephew of the Empress 
Dowager, had had a last audience of the Emperor on the 
evening of the 11th day of the 4th Moon, and he promised 
the Emperor that he would die. On leaving the Presence, 
he went with a party of retainers to the Hata Gate and 
slew several rebels. Thence he returned home and found 
that his mother, wife and sisters were already dead. They 
had hanged themselves after setting fire to the house; 
the fire was still raging, so that he could not enter the 
chamber. His uncle, second in command at the Palace, 
returned at this moment from his duties there, and met 
Liu Wen-ping in his garden. He proposed that both 
should throw themselves down the well, but his nephew 
stopped him, saying : " It is not respectful to the Emperor, 
whom you will shortly meet in Hades, that you should 
wear a military uniform. Put on your civilian dress." 
His uncle did so, and then, shouting : " Long live His 
Majesty," they died together. 

Wu Su, President of the Board of Ceremonies, was a 
renegade. He accepted office under the rebels, and bade 
his old servant prepare robes of ceremony that he might 
proceed to pay his congratulations to Li Tzu-ch'eng. 
The man replied : " The Son of Heaven is dead, and 
instead of hurrying to do obeisance before his bier you 
would actually kneel before the usurper ! Death is a 

111 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

small thing, but loss of honour is a great thing. Please, 
sir, reconsider this matter." With these words he kotowed 
until blood flowed from his temples. Wu Su angrily bade 
him begone; but again the old servant answered and 
said : " Your Excellency hankers now after wealth and 
position. You may disregard my words to-day, but the 
time is at hand when you will regret it. This rebel Li 
Tzii-ch'eng is treacherous and greedy. Your conduct 
will displease Heaven, and you will be reviled of men. 
Surely you have not long to live. As for me, I cannot 
bear to see one whom I have served all these years 
losing both life and reputation." So he killed himself; 
and his words came true, for Li made Wu Su hand over 
all his treasure, which was very large, and then had him 
beheaded. 

To return to Li Tzuch'eng, now undisputed ruler of 
Peking. On the 28th day of the 3rd Moon the President 
of the Ministry of Rites issued a circular notice, calling 
on all the officials and elders of the people to memoralise 
Li Tzii-ch'eng and invite him formally to ascend the 
Imperial Throne. This was done, and Li, graciously 
assenting, decreed that an auspicious day be appointed for 
the great ceremony. He intended that the occasion should 
be celebrated with all possible pomp and circumstance. 

But the auguries of evil were not to be gainsaid; the 
rebel Emperor's star had begun to decline from the 
moment he assumed the Imperial title at Peking. The 
magnificent ceremonies which he had planned for his 
formal installation on the Dragon Throne were never to 
take place, and in a little while he, the pursuer and 
plunderer, was to be pursued and plundered. 

It will be remembered that a few days before the fall 
of Peking the Emperor had sent an urgent summons to 
General Wu San-kuei (who was then holding Ning Yiian, 
the last of the Ming strongholds, against the Manchus), 
bidding him come with all speed to Peking. Wu San- 

112 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

kuei started at once, but he had scarcely got beyond the 
Great Wall when word was brought to him of the fall of 
Peking and the death of the Emperor. His army of 
seasoned veterans was evidently a weighty factor in the 
situation, especially as his evacuation of Ning Yuan had 
left the road open for the Manchus to march upon Peking. 
Wu San-kuei's father, General Wu Hsiang, had gone over 
to the rebels, and for his own safety's sake was most 
anxious that his son should tender his allegiance to Li 
Tzu-ch'eng. Wu San-kuei would undoubtedly have done 
so but for the matter of a certain singing-girl, which 
will be dealt with hereafter. For the present, suffice it 
to say that Li's overtures to him proved fruitless. He 
halted his army at Feng-Yiin, near the Great Wall, and 
while keeping up pourparlers with Li, began negotiations 
with Prince Jui (Dorgun), suggesting a combination of 
forces against the rebel Emperor. 

On the 29th of the 3rd Moon, eleven days after the 
fall of Peking, Li Tzu-ch'eng, fully aware that, with the 
Manchus behind him, Wu San-kuei would be a formidable 
foe, sent him a present of Tls. 40,000 for his troops, and 
addressed to him the following somewhat tactless letter : 

" You have been indeed favoured by fortune in rising to 
so high a position, since you have never rendered any 
pre-eminent military service to your Sovereign. But as 
the country was threatened by powerful enemies, the 
only way to keep you from going over to the other side 
was to shower rewards upon you. The principle is a 
sound one, and was originally enunciated by the philo- 
sopher Kuan Tzii as a reason for bestowing honours on 
doubtful loyalty ; it was also exemplified by the founder 
of the Han dynasty, in his employment of Han Hsin. 

" At present you have a large army under you, but it 

has only a spectacular value. If my troops swoop down 

upon you, you have neither the will to repel their onset 

nor the available force to defeat them. This is your last 

I 113 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

opportunity to join me. Your Emperor is dead and may 
soon be followed to the grave by your own sire. My 
advice, therefore, to you, if you wish to combine loyalty 
with filial duty, is to surrender to me and gain the honours 
which I promise you. If, however, you persist in over- 
weening self-confidence, your army is not strong enough 
for victory, and will be destroyed in a single morning. 
Your innocent father will be decapitated, and you will 
have lost both Sovereign and father. The proverb says : 
' It's only the father who knows his own son.' A pressing 
message." 

To this Wu, still temporising and with an eye to the 
future, replied by requesting that Li Tzii-ch'eng should 
send him the Heir Apparent, the son of the late Ming Em- 
peror. Instead of so doing, Li sent two renegade Ming 
Generals with a force of 20,000 men to attack him; but 
Wu, too wise to waste his forces in this way, beat a 
hurried retreat, and laid siege to the stronghold of Shan 
Hai-kuan, then held by a rebel garrison of 8,000 men. 
He took the city after a fierce assault, whereupon Li Tzu- 
ch'eng, realising that his Throne could never be secure with 
this enemy on his borders, left Peking with a force of over 
100,000 men to attack him. How Wu San-kuei, aided by 
the Manchus, defeated Li, will be told in a later chapter. 

After his defeat, Li Tzii-ch'eng entered into a treaty 
of alliance with Wu San-kuei for the division of the 
Empire, and handed over to him the person of the Heir 
Apparent. By this Treaty, Li was to be Emperor and 
ruler of Shansi, Shensi and all to the West of those provinces. 
He then hastened back with the remnant of his army to 
Peking. He re-entered the capital on the 26th day of 
the 4th Moon, and two days later solemnly assumed the 
Imperial title in the Wu Yung Palace Hall. He pro- 
claimed his Consort Kao as Empress, and conferred upon 
his ancestors for seven generations the posthumous title 
of Emperor. The ceremony of his enthronement was 

114 



i 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

shorn of the magnificence which he had intended; the 
gold Imperial seal was not ready and the coinage bearing 
his reign title had not been struck. Nevertheless, he had 
his hour of triumph — he wore the Dragon robe, and the 
whole Court made obeisance before him, while his accession 
was reverently announced at the altars of the Temples 
of Heaven and Earth. The chroniclers aver that, while 
he was receiving the congratulations of the Court, the 
dragon woven on the carpet of the Imperial dais " seemed 
to glare at him angrily." No doubt but that Li himself 
felt that the auguries were unfavourable. Having been 
acclaimed Emperor and left his name on that high roll 
of fame, he returned, with undiminished vigour, to the 
congenial role of plunderer. No sooner were the cere- 
monies at an end, than he set fire to the main halls of 
the Palace and to the towers on the city wall. Then he 
took all the gold vessels of the Palace and melted them 
down into flat " cakes," each weighing about a thousand 
ounces, suitable for transport. He loaded some ten 
thousand of these " cakes " on to his transport mules, 
and prepared to take the long trail towards his new 
Empire in the South. 

Before leaving, however, he proceeded to administer 
retributive justice to the Palace eunuchs, to the traitors 
who had betrayed their Sovereign and the Empire to 
save their purses and their skins. Collecting them all 
together, he first compelled them to give up all their pearls 
and valuables; they were then driven out of the Palace 
with cudgels. Not one was spared; even the eunuch Tu 
Hsiin, who had advised the surrender of the city, reaped 
the just reward of his treachery, and was forced to dis- 
gorge all his ill-gotten gains. After having been stripped 
of all portable valuables, they were led outside the Gate 
of Perpetual Peace and bidden to disclose where their 
other treasure was hidden. Those who refused either 
had their legs cut off below the knee or underwent the 

115 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

roasting torture. In some cases those who had given 
up all their worldly goods were made to endure the 
finger- squeezing torture, and after that were beheaded. 

The Earl Li Kuo-chen, who had been amongst the first 
to surrender, had not handed over enough plunder to 
satisfy Li Tzu-ch'eng, so he was tortured until both his 
ankles were broken, after which he was allowed to hang 
himself. His wife was stripped stark naked by the 
rebels and placed on a horse, amidst much ribaldry. 
The Grand Secretary Chen Yen had also surrendered, and 
had made his peace by paying a toll of Tls. 40,000, but 
Li thought he might possibly give trouble later on, so 
put him to death before leaving Peking, as well as Lo 
Yang-tsing, a Minister of the Household who had paid 
Tls. 30,000. 

With the subsequent fortunes of Li Tzu-ch'eng, Emperor 
of a day, we are not here concerned ; they are recorded in 
many volumes of history. But the time and manner of his 
death are still invested with the romantic quality which 
distinguished his eventful life. According to the official 
Manchu historians, he met an ignoble end at the hands 
of peasants at T'ung Ch'eng in Hupei, but this story 
would seem to have originated in the natural desire of 
the country's new rulers to have it believed that he was 
dead, if only because, so long as he remained alive, he 
must continue to be a cause of unrest. It is recorded that 
a corpse, supposed to be his, was officially exhumed and de- 
capitated, but the truth seems to be that, after the fitful 
fever of his adventurous career, he ended his days in 
peaceful seclusion, not without dignity, as a Buddhist 
priest. There are, at least, good grounds for this belief. 
After the capture of Wu ch'ang by the Manchus (1646), 
which Li had held against them for some time, he appears 
to have fled into Hunan, accompanied by a remnant of 
about thirty followers, and sought refuge at a place called 
Ching Hua. Thence he retreated to Buffalo Mountain 

116 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

in the An fu district, and there, bidding his retinue leave 
him, he proceeded alone to Mount Chia. Near the town 
of Shih men (Stony Gate) he found a temple, in which 
he took refuge, shaving his head and donning the robes 
of a priest. In the priests' burial ground of that temple 
there still stands the dagoba in which Li is said to be 
buried. Its inscription runs : " The Buddhist priest 
whose religious designation was the ' Jewel ^ of Heaven's 
Grace.' " In front of the tomb is a tablet, on which is 
written : " None can tell the family name or origin of 
the priest who lies buried here." When Li first became a 
rebel he had styled himself, " By Heaven's grace leader 
of righteousness and supreme commander." Subsequently 
he assumed the title, " Emperor of the Great Obedient 
Dynasty." 

In the reign of K'ang Hsi (about 1695) an old priest 
of this temple told a scholar of Ch'angsha that he remem- 
bered Li's arrival in 1646; he had refused to say from 
whence he came, but his accent was that of a Shensi 
man. He seemed to be well read in the Buddhist Works 
on Ecclesiastical Discipline. Some years later he was 
joined by another priest, named Yeh Fu, who had formerly 
been his disciple, and who attended him with the greatest 
devotion for the rest of his life. He died in the Chia Yin 
year of K'ang Hsi (1674), when about seventy years of 
age, after delivering a valedictory message to his disciple 
Yeh Fu, in which he described himself as an Emperor 
who had renounced the pomps and vanities of this world. 
His picture was preserved in the temple, and the priest 
who told the storj?- produced it for the scholar's inspection. 
There could be no doubt that it was the portrait of Li 
Tzu-ch'eng : apart from the loss of one eye, his high 
forehead and sunken jaw were unmistakable. His re- 
maining eye was large and lustrous (so that he was often 
called " Owl-eyed "), and his nose was strongly aquiline. 
1 In reference to the Imperial patrimony. 
117 



CHAPTER IV 
WU SAN-KUEI 

Chinese historians, as a rule, are given to describing 
the characters and deeds of their great men with a some- 
what crude and uncompromising finahty; they are either 
good or bad, strong or weak, and every succeeding genera- 
tion of scholars accepts and confirms verdicts which were 
often rendered in the first instance upon insufficient 
or false evidence. Classical Chinese history, on the 
whole, is strangely indifferent to the changing moods and 
motives of men; it contents itself with recording results, 
painting the picture of the past without the light and 
shade of humanity's mutable purposes and irresponsible 
impulses. And Chinese historians, being generally scholars 
anxious for official employment or preferment, are wont 
to describe men and events in a manner conforming either 
to constituted authority and the political opinions of 
the day or to their own preconceived prejudices. 

Thus it is, no doubt, that Wu San-kuei, the Chinese 
General who first broke the power of Li Tzu-ch'eng, and 
finally drove him back, repeatedly defeated, beyond the 
Yangtsze, stands in history to-day as a great soldier, a 
statesman and a scholar. Great soldier he certainly 
was : for several years his military genius had held in 
check the Manchus, and his brilliant defence of Ning 
Yiian had earned for him the admiration of those good 
fighting men. But of his principles and patriotism, the 
less said the better. 

118 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

After the fall of Peking and the death of the Emperor 
his army,^ standing between the forces of the rebel 
Monarch and those of the Manchu invaders, was in a 
position to command the situation and to determine the 
destinies of China, in so far as these depended upon the 
occupancy of the Throne. It is certain that if he had 
obeyed his father's wishes and given his adherence to 
Li Tzii-ch'eng, the Manchus would not have been able to 
establish their rule upon the ruins of the Ming dynasty. 
If Wu had observed the terms of the treaty of alliance 
against the Manchus, which Li Tzii-ch'eng made with 
him after the latter's first great defeat near Shan Hai- 
kuan, the Mings might have continued to rule at Peking. 
His final decision, to throw in his lot with the Manchus 
against the rebels and violate his avowed allegiance to 
the Ming Heir Apparent, was due, not to love of his 
country, but to his passion for a certain singing-girl, of 
whom, after the fall of Peking, Li Tzii-ch'eng had deprived 
him. 

The following facts of Wu San-kuei's career at this 
juncture, critical in determining the subsequent history 
of China, are taken from a diary written at Peking by 
one of the Palace eunuchs named Wang Yung-chang, 
who was an eye-witness of the fall of Peking and a close 
observer of subsequent events. In this diary are tran- 
scribed several letters written by Wu San-kuei to his 
father. General Wu Hsiang, who had sworn allegiance to 
the usurping Emperor. They prove beyond all doubt that 
Wu San-kuei's policy was originally influenced by personal 
ambition, for he was quite ready to serve under either 
banner; but that, at the critical moment, his actions 
were determined solely by his desire to regain possession 
of his favourite concubine. The Manchus owed their 
dynasty, under Heaven, to the little singing-girl known 

^ The Manchu records state that Wu San-kuei's army at Ning-Yiian 
consisted of 130,000 infantry and 40,000 cavahy. 

119 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

to contemporary chroniclers as Lady Ch'en, the Round- 
faced Beauty.^ 

Four days after the fall of Peking, that is to say on 
the 22nd of the 3rd Moon (1644), Wu San-kuei wrote from 
his camp at Feng-Yiin to his father in the Palace a letter 
which the latter handed over to Li Tzu-ch'eng. In it he 
said : " It is rumoured here that Peking has fallen, but of 
this we have no definite news. No doubt the city is being 
besieged. If you can manage to escape, do not bring much 
money with you, but bury your treasure as best you can. 
Please tell my favourite mistress, the Lady Ch'en, that 
I am in good health, and bid her keep up her courage." 

Another letter followed, saying : " I have now received 
definite news of the fall of Peking, and propose to move 
with my forces to a position outside Shan Hai-kuan. 
If you cannot possibly escape from Peking, try to send 
me a line by special courier. If all our women have been 
seized by Li Tzii-ch'eng you will be acting wisely in 
surrendering to him. I am most anxious about the 
Lady Ch'en." 

A third letter is dated the 25th day of the 3rd Moon : 
" I have your letter of the 20th and note that you have 
surrendered to the new Emperor (Li Tzii-ch'eng). Under 
the circumstances, it was the only thing to do, so as to 
save our women frcrm the hands of the rebels. The truly 
great man will always frame his actions with careful 
regard for the exigencies of the moment, and trim his 
sail to the favouring breeze. But your letter goes on 
to say that the Lady Ch'en has left Peking on horseback 
on her way to my camp. I have seen and heard nothing 
of her. Oh, father ! how could you thus recklessly allow 
a delicate girl of her age to start out on so perilous an 
adventure ? I had moved my troops to Shan Hai-kuan, 

^ This romantic personage had originally been a slave-girl in the 
household of Earl Chou K'uei. Wu San-kuei met her there at a wine- 
party, and loved her at first sight. 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

and was seriously thinking of submitting to Li Tzii-ch'eng. 
But this news has greatly upset me." 

A fourth letter is dated the 27th day of the 3rd Moon : 
" Yesterday I heard definitely that the rebel General 
Liu Tsung-min has seized the Lady Ch'en. Woe is me ! 
I shall never see her again in this life. I could never 
have believed that you, father, would have been guilty 
of such folly. Yesterday I bombarded Shan Hai-kuan 
and caught the rebels unawares. I had planned to make 
use of some of the Manchu forces and to march straight 
on Peking, but hesitated to do so because of the possible 
consequences to the Lady Ch'en. If she is back again in 
Peking, and the rebels ascertain that she is my concubine, 
they will probably spare her life, hoping thereby to induce 
me to surrender. But if once I move my troops they 
will certainly kill her. Hence, I send you this by special 
courier, in order that I may learn how matters stand." 

The fifth, and last, letter reads : " I have your letter, 
in which you tell me that the Lady Ch'en has been 
appointed a concubine in the Palace, and am glad to 
hear that she is being kindly treated. But you write as 
if you were not very positive of your facts; who is your 
informant? You also say that the Ming Heir Apparent, 
son of the late Emperor, is in the Palace; have you seen 
him or not ? Now that you have submitted to the Shun 
dynasty ^ you should memorialise the new Emperor in 
audience and tell him what I say. All I ask is that he 
hand over to me the Heir Apparent and Lady Ch'en. 
Let him do this and I will loyally submit to his dynasty 
at once." 

This correspondence proves the absurdity of the gene- 
rally accepted version of the story, which describes Wu's 
loyal indignation at Li Tzii-ch'eng's capture of Peking 
as " making his hair to stand on end, so that his hat was 
lifted from his head." 

1 The title chosen by Li Tzu-ch'eng for his new hne. 

121 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

In demanding the person of the Heir Apparent, Wu 
San-kuei's first intention, as subsequent events proved, 
was to proclaim him Emperor — a puppet Monarch — 
for his own purposes. He went so far as to adopt for him 
a reign title, and dated his official proclamations and 
despatches " the first year of Yi-Hsing," or " Manifesta- 
tion of Righteousness." But he abandoned the plan 
when, to his intense wrath, he heard that his concubine, 
the " Round-faced Beauty," had been given to the 
Heir Apparent. This all-important fact is not 
mentioned either in the official records or in private 
memoirs, but the statements in Wang Yung-chang's 
diary, the account of an eye-witness, are fully confirmed 
by circumstantial evidence, and fit in with all the other 
known facts of the situation. They may, therefore, be 
accepted as true. Witness the following extract : " On 
the day after the fall of Peking the rebels discovered 
the Heir Apparent concealed in the house of the father 
of T'ien, the Imperial Concubine. He and his brother. 
Prince Ting, were handed over to the rebel Emperor, 
who conferred upon the Heir Apparent the title of Prince 
Sung and on his brother that of " Duke of Peaceful 
Abode." On the 6th of the 4th Moon, Li Tzu-ch'eng, 
in truculent mood, wrote to Wu San-kuei as follows : 
" The Heir Apparent is safely ensconced in the Palace, 
so you may abandon all hope of using him for the further- 
ance of your schemes. We have given him a princedom, 
and WE have made over to him your wife and women 
for him to dally with as he pleases." 

Three days later, Li Tzii-ch'eng issued a decree proclaim- 
ing a punitive expedition against Wu San-kuei; he left 
Peking on the 12th of the 4th Moon with an advance 
force of over 100,000 men. In his suite were the Heir 
Apparent, his brother, three other Ming Princes, Wu 
San-kuei's wife and two sisters, and a number of Palace 
concubines, amongst whom was the " Round-faced 

122 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Beauty." A fortnight later the armies met at a spot 
known as the " Stony Valley." Li was utterly defeated, 
and fled into Shan Hai-kuan. Thence, hoping to come to 
terms with Wu San-kuei, he sent to his camp the Heir 
Apparent and the " Round-faced Beauty." Wu, still 
uncertain as to the future, and wavering in his allegiance 
to the Mings, agreed next day with Li Tzii-ch'eng, and 
signed with him an offensive and defensive alliance against 
the Manchus. It read : " The Emperor Yi-Hsing,^ of 
the great Ming dynasty, hereby deputes Wu San-kuei, 
his Regent and Grand Secretary, Prince Pacificator of 
the West, and the General commanding. Earl Tang 
T'ung; and the Emperor Yung ch'ang,^ of the Great 
Obedient Dynasty, deputes the President of his War 
Department, Wang Tse-yao, acting with Chang Jo-ch'i, to 
enter upon a sworn treaty of alliance at Shan Hai-kuan — 
on this 22nd day of the 4th Moon of the Chia Shen year. 

" From the date of this agreement each party shall 
keep its respective territories, and neither shall invade 
the other. The Great Obedient Dynasty is now in pos- 
session of Peking, but hereby agrees to evacuate and 
restore it to the Great Ming Dynasty on the 1st day 
of the 5th Moon, to belong to the Mings for ever. The 
treasure and valuables seized at the sack of Peking are 
recognised as the property of the Great Obedient Dynasty. 
It shall be optional for its inhabitants to become subjects 
of the Great Obedient Dynasty or to remain under the 
Ming Dynasty. To the Great Obedient Dynasty shall 
belong the provinces of Shansi and Shensi and all to the 
West thereof. If the Manchu troops invade China, both 
parties to this alliance shall unite against them; their 
mutual relations shall be those of sympathetic allies, 
for weal or woe. Whoso breaks this treaty, may Heaven 
and earth combine to destroy him." 

1 The reign title given to the Heir Apparent by Wu San-kuei. 

2 Li Tzu-ch'eng's reign title. 

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ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

After signing this treaty, Li Tzii-eh'eng marched back 
to Peking, where he arrived on the 29th. He was not 
left long in doubt as to the loyalty of his new ally, for 
even before he reached the capital, couriers brought him 
two proclamations which Wu San-kuei had issued; one 
in his capacity of the " Regent and Grand Secretary, 
Prince Pacificator of the West," dated the 1st year, 
4th Moon, 24th day of the Ming Emperor Yi-Hsing, 
the other as " Prince of the first rank. Pacificator of the 
West," hfeaded with the Manchu date of the reign of 
Shun Chih. After reading the latter proclamation, Li 
exclaimed : " If I am victorious, this double-faced villain 
will be on my side; if the Manchus win, he will join them. 
Having got the Heir Apparent and the women Ch'en 
into his hands, he breaks without compunction our 
solemn treaty. Such a creature is more brute than man." 

With that he decapitated Wu's father and sixteen 
female members of his family. 

On the 1st day of the 5th Moon a decree was received 
in the Palace from the Ming Heir Apparent, that he 
would enter the city within three days and proceed to 
perform the funeral rites of the late Emperor and his 
Consort. At the end of this decree he affixed the date 
of his own year title, " Yi Hsing," proving that he regarded 
himself as Emperor and trusted to the loyalty of Wu 
San-kuei. Memorials of welcome were accordingly pre- 
pared, and in due course the news reached the Palace 
that His Majesty had arrived at the Western Gate, so 
Wang Te-hua made ready the Imperial sedan-chair and 
the insignia prescribed for an Imperial progress and 
went forth to meet him at the head of a large body of 
officials. The eunuchs were very busy with preparations 
inside the Palace. 

The foregoing details of Wu San-kuei's career are taken 
from the diary of the eunuch Wang Yung-chang. At this 
point it ends. There are certain discrepancies in matters 

124 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

of detail between the narrative and other accounts of 
the period, notably in regard to the time and place at 
which was signed the treaty of alliance for the division 
of the Empire and the date at which Wu's father was put 
to death by the vindictive Li. But the main facts and 
the documents quoted may be taken as reliable. 

Wu San-kuei's lack of filial piety, in putting his " Round- 
faced Beauty " before his father, has been condoned by 
historians, who quote with approval his own saying: " A 
disloyal Minister must expect to have an unfilial son." 
Wu San-kuei himself, evidently with an eye to the verdict 
of posterity, justified his action in the last letter which 
he addressed to his undutiful parent. The following 
extract from this document is interesting : " Your unfilial 
son, San-kuei, weeps tears of blood and offers his duty 
at your knee, father mine. Since childhood I have bene- 
fited by your teaching, and have striven night and day 
to perform my duty on the field, in the hope of repaying 
something of my Emperor's favours. After the loss of 
Ning Yiian, the key to Peking, I was determined to recover 
it at all costs, when to my dismay I learned that the 
capital itself had fallen, owing to the lack of courage 
displayed by its defenders. You, father mine, were one 
of the military commanders and had a large force at your 
disposal. How comes it that you surrendered so quickly 
and failed to make the stout resistance which duty 
required? A mighty city like Peking should not have 
fallen after a single day's siege. I have learned with 
shame of His Majesty's death and of the massacre of 
his subjects. You, my father, have enjoyed a reputation 
for loyalty; if you could not repel the invader, surely it 
behoved you to cut your throat at the Palace gates and 
thus to die for your country ? Then I should have 
hastened, in garb of mourning, to avenge your fate or 
to perish in the attempt. How now can you bear to pro- 
long your disgraceful existence in the rebel ranks ? Wang 

125 



) 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Ling's mother committed suicide rather than allow her 
son to surrender to Hsiang Chi. Chao Pao was the 
cause of his mother's death, because the barbarians 
placed her in front of their battle line when he attacked 
them. You used to tell me of these ancient heroines, 
but your own behaviour suffers sadly in comparison with 
that of these noble women. You have failed to act as 
a loyal Minister; why should I be a filial son? Hence- 
forward I disown you. Even though the rebels place you 
on the sacrificial altar, so as to make me submit, I shall 
ignore your fate. Respectful greetings from your son." 

From all the evidences of contemporary documents 
and tradition there is reason to believe that, for a time 
at least, Wu San-kuei meant to support the Heir Apparent 
in his claims to the Throne at Peking and, possibly, to 
allow Li Tzu-ch'eng to retain dominion over Shansi and 
the West. According to the generally accepted records, 
it was from Yung P'ing-fu, after the rout at Shan Hai- 
kuan, that Li made overtures to treat with Wu for the 
division of the Empire and sent him the person of the 
Heir Apparent. It is certain that at this point Wu 
desisted from pursuing Li's beaten army, and issued 
proclamations announcing his intention to enter Peking 
for the restoration of the Ming dynasty at an early date. 
One of these proclamations, dated the 30th of the 4th 
Moon, reached Peking on the morning that Li Tzu- 
ch'eng and his loot-laden army left the city. It announced 
the approach of the Heir Apparent, and directed the 
people to wear mourning for His late Majesty. 

It was at this juncture that the Manchus showed their 
hand clearly and gave Wu San-kuei no option but to 
throw in his lot with them, abandoning the Mings, or 
to fight against hopeless odds. Wu had hoped to be 
able to keep the Manchus busy with pourparlers while 
he carried out his plans and took stock of the situation 
at Peking, but Prince Jui, the Manchu Regent, suspicious 

126 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

of his intentions, hurried on from Shan Hai-kuan to Chin- 
chou. There, hearing of Wu's proclamations, he sent 
him an urgent message forbidding him to enter Peking 
in state and saying that no Ming Sovereign would be 
acknowledged. Wu made his choice, and the Ming 
dynasty's chances of restoration went with it. 

On the morning of the 3rd day of the 5th Moon, the 
Peking officials assembled outside the Western Gate to 
meet, as they expected, their new Ming Emperor. But 
when the palanquin arrived, its occupant was seen to be the 
Manchu Regent, and Wu San-kuei was with him. Their 
entry was received in dead silence. At the Tung Hua 
Gate of the Palace some eunuchs came forward with the 
Imperial sedan and invited the Regent to enter it. For 
some time he demurred, but yielding at length proceeded 
in it to the Palace. As the Court knelt, he said : "I 
wish to follow the precedent of Duke Chou in acting as 
Regent for the infant Emperor. I ought not to ride in 
the Imperial chair." He then entered the Wu-ying Hall 
and received the Ming officials, bidding them all remain 
at their former posts. A memorial was handed to him 
inviting him to ascend the Throne, but his Grand Secre- 
tary, Fan Wen-ch'eng, rebuked the memorialists, saying : 
" We have a young Emperor already who succeeded to 
the Throne last year at Moukden; the Prince Regent 
cannot possibly accede to your proposal." 

The politic Regent, rightly judging that the atmo- 
sphere of Peking at this juncture might have a bad effect 
upon Wu San-kuei and his army, sent him in pursuit of 
Li Tzu-ch'eng. Wu, well knowing that Li's forces were 
staggering under the weight of their accumulated plunder, 
accepted the mission, which he carried out with his usual 
vigour and success. The treaty of alliance cast to the 
winds, he routed Li in several fierce engagements, relieved 
him of his ill-gotten booty, and finally drove him into 
Shansi. From the date of his entry into Peking by the 

127 



J 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Regent's side, until in 1674 he rebelled in his turn, he was 
the Manchus' man and a solid pillar of their State. They 
rewarded his services with a Princedom, giving him 
command over the provinces of Kuei chou and Yunnan. 

The correspondence which passed between Wu and 
the Manchu Regent, before their combined forces defeated 
Li Tzu-ch'eng, is not without historical importance, and 
may fittingly be referred to here. It was when Li Tzu- 
ch'eng's " punitive expedition " had started from Peking, 
on the 12th of the 3rd Moon, that Wu made up his mind 
at Ning Yiian to seek an alliance with the Manchus. 
Accordingly, he wrote to the Regent, who had made 
overtures to him some time before. After referring to 
the invasion of Peking by the rebel host of " pilfering 
dogs," he invoked the assistance of the Manchus to 
chastise the rebels, in the following terms : 

" The accumulated virtues of our dynastic line have 
inspired feelings of loyal love and devotion in our people ; 
volunteers are flocking to our standard against the foul 
invaders, and I, who have received such favours from the 
Throne, have endeavoured to raise an avenging host which 
shall attain the decisive victory that all men desire. But 
I regret to say that my forces are insufficient, and there- 
fore, weeping tears of blood, I implore your assistance. 
For two centuries our States have been allies, and now 
that we have met with this catastrophe surely it behoves 
your dynasty to pity us. Surely you will never suffer 
these bandit traitors to work their evil will ? Your duty 
to Heaven requires you to exterminate these evil-doers; 
charity to your fellow men must impel you to rescue the 
distressed and to save them from utter ruin; generosity 
and justice call upon you to rescue the people from this 
scourge of fire and flood; you will gain real glory by 
restoring a fallen State and renewing an extinct lineage; 
thus shall you display the prestige of your arms and gain 
new territories. 

128 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" Your Highness is endowed with heroic qualities, 
and the present offers a splendid opportunity to strike 
home. I beseech you to pay heed to this loyal entreaty 
of the orphaned servant of a ruined dynasty, and to send 
your picked troops to invade China, placing them in the 
centre and right wing, whilst I march with my forces 
on the left wing. You should move at once on the capital, 
expel the rebels from the Palace which they profane, 
and thus prove your magnanimity to the Middle Empire. 
What limit can there be to the gratitude which it will 
be our bounden duty to display ? By rights I should 
address His Majesty directly, but being ignorant of the 
correct etiquette I have not ventured lightly to intrude 
upon his sacred intelligence with my entreaties. Will 
Your Highness graciously memorialise him in my stead ? " 

On receipt of the above letter, the Regent Dorgun 
(Prince Jui) at once sent Balaikun to Chin-chou to bring 
up more cannon. He moved his camp on to Tin Valley, 
and from there sent the following reply to Wu San-kuei : 

" We have repeatedly wished to make peace with the 
Mings and have sent letters offering to negotiate, but 
the Ming Sovereign and Ministers did not condescend to 
reply, being blind to the ruin which threatened their 
dynasty. For this reason we have twice approached 
their capital with our armies, so as to read a useful lesson 
to the Ming Emperor, to induce him to make peace with 
our nation, and to prove our good intentions to his people. 
To-day the position has completely changed, and our 
present purpose is to establish the fortunes of your State 
and to take your people under our protection. The 
tidings of the capture of Peking and the lamentable 
death of the Ming Sovereign have caused my hair to stand 
on end with horror. Therefore, I am now leading an 
avenging army, which is resolved to succeed or perish 
in achieving the deliverance of your people. We shall 
never desist from our task until the rebels are vanquished. 
K 129 



^ 

^ 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Your letter has greatly gratified me, and I am advancing 
to the attack forthwith. In refusing to live under the 
same sky with the usurper you are fulfilling the duty of 
a loyal Minister; let not any thoughts of past hostility 
between us cloud your mind with doubt or suspicion. 
Did not the ruler of the Ch'i State, Duke Hsian, confer 
high office on his former enemy, Kuan Chung, and thus 
attained to supremacy over the feudal states ? If you 
will join our army with your troops I will bestow upon 
you the rank of a feudal Prince, so that on the one hand 
you will avenge your master's disgrace, and on the other 
hand you will assure your own fortunes and those of 
your posterity for all time. Honours and fortunes will 
be lavished upon you, and your house will stand for ever, 
immutable as the hills and the Yellow River." 

Dorgun moved on to Lien Shan, and there received a 
further letter from Wu San-kuei : "I am in receipt of 
your letter and note that your troops are advancing. 
Your righteous action will bring you eternal fame. My 
reason for assisting you is solely due to my veneration 
for His late Majesty Ch'ung Chen, and considerations of 
personal aggrandisement move me not at all. In obedi- 
ence to your behests I am occupying all strategic points 
West of Shan Hai-kuan with my picked men, hoping to 
decoy the rebels to advance. At present they are in 
full force around Yung-t'ing, as numerous as ants. Of 
a surety Heaven intends that they shall dig a pit for their 
own destruction. I am arranging that a large portion 
of my army shall co-operate with yours. Let Your High- 
ness dispatch your tiger-like levies towards Shan Hai-kuan, 
that we may attack the rebels in front and rear. They 
will fall into our hands, so that Peking and all the region 
round about will soon know the blessings of peace. One 
word more : an army such as yours, inspired with the 
loftiest of motives, must desire above all things to win 
the confidence of the people. You should, therefore, issue 

130 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

stringent orders against looting, and by so doing both 
territory and all which it contains will be yours. The 
Empire is won ! " 

Next day the Regent was within three miles of Shan 
Hai-kuan. Li Tzii-ch'eng's force had been reinforced 
and now numbered 200,000 men. With him were the 
Heir Apparent of the Mings, his two brothers and many 
Ming Princes of the Imperial family, as well as Wu 
San-kuei's father. He sent a final summons to Wu to 
surrender, but the message was ignored, so Li advanced 
to bombard Shan Hai-kuan. Wu sent despatch riders 
to inform the Manchus, and Prince Jui, the Regent, 
dispatched a force which met and defeated the rebel 
General at Yi-pien-shih. On the following morning, Wu 
and his men came out of Shan Hai-kuan to welcome the 
Manchus. The Regent warmly welcomed him, gave him 
a ceremonial reception, and proceeded with him to per- 
form joint obeisance to Heaven. Wu then introduced 
his officers, and the Regent bade him return and order 
his troops to fasten white badges on their shoulders, 
so as to avoid confusion between them and the rebels. 
Li Tzii-ch'eng's forces were drawn up in line between 
the mountains and the sea, awaiting the order to attack. 
A furious dust storm was raging; they could hardly see 
a yard in front of their position. The Manchu troops 
were drawn up some distance away, and received instruc- 
tions from the Regent to bide their time and await order, 
as any premature movement might mean disaster. " If 
every man does his best," said he, " the Empire is 
ours." 

Wu San-kuei threw his right wing against Li Tzu- 
ch'eng. With a mighty shout they rushed at the rebel 
lines, but their first onslaught was repulsed. The wind 
dropped and both sides engaged in a furious melee. 
The Manchus supported the attack with an irresistible 
charge. The rebel ranks broke, and the day ended in 

131 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

their complete rout, a scene of hopeless confusion and 
great slaughter. 

On the following day the inhabitants of Shan Hai-kuan 
shaved their heads, in obedience to a proclamation by 
the Regent. The Manchu Princes had hesitated to 
believe in Wu San-kuei's assurances, but they were 
reassured when he appeared in their camp with shaven 
head. The Regent thereupon conferred upon him a 
Princedom of the first class, together with the robes and 
emoluments of his rank. His father received the " happy 
despatch " at the hands of Li Tzii-ch'eng on the same day. 

With the next thirty years of Wu San-kuei's successful 
career, spent first in breaking up the forces of Li Tzii- 
ch'eng and later in hunting down the last fugitive claimants 
to the Throne of the Mings, we are not at present con- 
cerned. When the Manchus' dominion had been definitely 
established over the whole Empire, Wu was rewarded 
with a satrapy, giving him command over the provinces 
of Kuei-chou and Yunnan. At his palace in Yiinnan-fu 
he maintained Imperial state. It was built and furnished 
in regal style, decorated with splendid halls and pavilions. 
He spent large revenues in beautifying the city, erecting 
a pleasure house on an island of the lake which he called 
" Beside the Crystal Wave," and planted a garden in the 
western suburb known as the " Park of Peaceful Pros- 
perity," in which he kept his large library. But his 
prosperity was not destined to be permanently peaceful. 
In 1674, incensed at the Emperor K'ang Hsi's decision 
to reduce his semi-independent authority, he, the queller 
of rebellions, raised the standard of revolt against the 
Manchus, proclaimed the establishment of a new (Chou) 
dynasty, and fought with all his pristine vigour and success, 
until, in October 1678, a stroke of paralysis ended his 
tumultuous career. His proud spirit, accustomed to 
command, would not brook the thought of exchanging 
his vassal state for the position of a subject. 

132 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Long before his open declaration of revolt, he had been 
planning to throw off his allegiance on this far-flung 
frontier of the Empire, and would sit for hours brooding 
over his grievances and plotting his revenge. He made 
his preparations carefully, as was his wont, and laid in 
large stores of provisions and munitions of war. Whilst 
he was thus engaged, trouble occurred in his menage. A 
younger brother of his favourite concubine had given him 
offence, and Wu threatened to behead him. The offender 
fled from Yunnan, made his way to Peking, and informed 
the Emperor of Wu's treasonable designs. K'ang Hsi, 
who had but recently taken over the Government from 
his Regent (1667) refused to believe the story. Never- 
theless, he dispatched a secret messenger to Yiinnan-fu 
to ascertain the truth. Wu had spies of his own in all 
the inns of the city, who reported to him at once the 
arrival of any strangers from Peking. He soon heard of 
K'ang Hsi's agent and realised that the Emperor suspected 
him. Desiring to ease the Monarch's mind, and thus to 
prevent the arrival of Imperialist troops before his plans 
were completed, he hastily restored on official documents 
the year title K'ang Hsi (for which he had substituted 
a new dynastic appellation of his own), and hung outside 
the gate of his Palace a new pair of scrolls, proclaiming 
his allegiance to the Manchus : 

" How much mightier is the Emperor than I ! " 
" The Minister dreads lest his loyalty be doubted." 

The envoy remained a month in the city, but could find 
no proofs of Wu's intention to rebel. He copied the 
scrolls above quoted and on returning to Peking handed 
them to the Emperor. The latter laughed heartily, 
saying : " My old servant is innocent of rebellious plottings 
and has been the victim of calumny." 

When eventually news reached him that Wu had 
actually rebelled, K'ang Hsi, who was at his ablutions 

133 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

at the time, was greatly enraged, and threw the ewer 
he was using to the ground, shouting : " How that scurvy 
rogue has fooled me ! " 

When the decree reached Yunnan by which K'ang Hsi 
abolished the three semi-independent vassaldoms and re- 
placed them by provincial administration, Wu invited his 
officials and secretaries to discuss the situation. They 
proposed various schemes, all of which Wu rejected. He 
had already made up his mind to rebel, and would hear of 
no compromise. One of his staff, however, a Ch^kiang 
man, named Hu, sat in a corner, silently smiling with a 
contemptuous expression, as if he guessed what was in 
Wu's mind. Next day, Wu invited all the staff to a 
banquet and selected Hu for special honour by handing 
him a cup of wine, in which was a large dose of poison. 
Hu died in great agony. 

Wu San-kuei had the physical traits which the 
Chinese associate with intellectual greatness — conspicu- 
ously large and long ears and a fierce aquiline nose. He 
went clean-shaven, and the expression of his face was 
stern and forbidding. Himself a hard worker, he exacted 
industry from others, and was a strict disciplinarian. 
Men feared his wrath; luckily for those who served him 
there was a danger signal on his face that never failed, 
for on the bridge of his nose (which was misshapen) 
there was a black birthmark which would swell and turn 
purple when an outburst of rage was impending. Also, 
just before the explosion, he was wont to give out ominous 
snorts, which served to remind those about him that 
they had engagements elsewhere. 

As we have shown in his correspondence with Prince 
Jui, Wu had a neat and effective literary style, but scholars 
admire him chiefly for his proclamations and addresses 
to his troops, in which he displayed much originality 
and power of invective. His exhortation to the army 
to exterminate Li Tzu-ch'eng is one of his masterpieces 

134 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

in this style of composition. " That puny hobgoblin," 
it runs, " that petty traitor, Li Tzu-ch'eng, has befouled 
our sacred capital. The light of the sun is obscured, and 
his poisonous miasma reeks to Heaven. Wolves and 
jackals infest our citadel, dogs and swine squat in our 
Palace halls. They have been guilty of the death of 
their Majesties; they have put to the sword our scholars 
and our principal men. They have massacred our people 
and sacked our chief city. High Heaven resounds with 
the bitter plaint of our dynasty's illustrious ancestors. 
The Halls of Hades bear witness to the tears of blood 
shed by our bravest and our best. But Heaven's man- 
date to the dynasty is not exhausted; the memory of its 
virtue still lives in every heart. Patriotic sincerity 
requires its restoration, this traitor must flee before 
our loyal resolution. Let volunteers arise and smite 
him, so shall ten thousand be put to flight by one. Yet 
a little while and we shall see China faithful to her old 
rulers and the house of Chu ^ restored to power." 

Like most of his contemporaries, Wu displayed a 
tendency (which the Emperor K'ang Hsi was wont to 
deplore in his elder statesmen) to allow his everyday 
actions and his decisions at moments of crisis to be guided 
by the advice of fortune-tellers and astrologers — " by 
dreams and by Urim and by prophets." This power 
of seers and soothsayers has ever been a very vital factor 
in shaping the destinies of the Chinese, as it has been 
with all the peoples of the Orient, whose instincts and 
traditions fit them to hear the voices that Europe has 
silenced with materialism. 

Just before raising his standard of rebellion against the 
Manchus in 1674, Wu San-kuei decided to consult a 
certain Taoist priest, famous throughout the province 
for his uncanny skill in foretelling destiny by the study 
of physiognomy. Wu invited him to attend at the Palace, 

1 Chu Yiian-chang, founder of the Ming dynasty. 
135 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

but the priest refused. Then Wu went, incognito, to 
visit him and asked to be shown the future. After 
gazing at him for a long time, the priest said : " Your face 
is that of a man who will attain to great power, but there 
are lines on your chin which tell me that your posterity 
will be overtaken by disaster and your family become 
extinct." 

Wu said nothing; but after returning to the Palace 
and brooding over this prophecy of evil he decided to 
send one of his trusty servants and put the priest to death. 
The priest, however, had recognised his visitor, and, being 
a judge of physiognomy, had left the neighbourhood 
and was not to be found. 

In early manhood, as a relief from the monotony of a 
military life, which consisted largely of long sieges, Wu 
San-kuei became an excellent amateur actor, and at 
one time trained a company of players and singers known 
as " The Swallows," who brought him no little kudos. 
Chroniclers relate the following story, which throws a 
pleasing Kaiser-light on this versatile genius. He was 
travelling incognito in Kiangsu and had reached the town 
of Huai-an. Happening upon the residence of a wealthy 
merchant, where theatricals were in progress, he sent in 
a card under an assumed name, and was invited to come 
in. The performance was extremely poor; nevertheless, 
both host and guests applauded it loudly. Wu sadly 
and silently shook his head. Thereat the host indignantly 
jeered at him : " How should a rustic boor like yourself 
appreciate such acting as this ? " Wu replied : " I don't 
profess to be an expert, but I have been a lover of the 
play for over a generation." This reply only incensed 
the merchant the more, but one of the guests, seeking an 
opportunity to insult the stranger, invited Wu to give 
them a taste of his own quality. Wu, delighted at such 
an opportunity of displaying his skill, wasted no time 
in polite refusals, and sang the whole of a well-known 

136 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

piece called " A Journey Eastward." The audience were 
struck speechless with wonder and admiration. When he 
had finished, Wu waited until the musicians had ceased 
playing and quietly withdrew. His identity was never 
suspected, but he himself always spoke of this adventure 
as the greatest triumph of his career. 

Wu San-kuei was no incorruptible patriot, but he was 
undoubtedly one of the bravest men of those stirring 
days, and an extremely picturesque figure. We shall 
have occasion to refer to him again in narrating the 
final scene in the history of the last of the Mings, whom 
Wu San-kuei pursued into Burmah. 



137 



CHAPTER V 
THE MANCHU DYNASTY ESTABLISHED 

It is not within the scope of the present work to trace 
the origins and ramifications of the Manchu clans back 
to the prehistoric period when they made love and war in 
their ancestral homes, which lay between the Long White 
Mountain and the Amur River. Their early history en- 
gaged the scholarly attention of the Emperor Ch'ien Lung, 
who dealt with it in several of his voluminous works; it 
goes back to the time of the Sushen tribe which, according 
to the annals, brought tribute to the Court of the Emperor 
Shun (2230 B.C.) in the form of bows and arrows. 

For the purposes of the present narrative, which describes 
the establishment of the Manchu dynasty in China after 
the decline and fall of the Mings, it is unnecessary to go 
further back than the days of Nurhachi (known in history 
as Tai-tsu, the exalted founder), born in 1559, of the 
Sukosuhu Clan of "the Manchu branch of the Nuchens. 
At an early period in his career Nurhachi's father and 
grandfather had been treacherously put to death by the 
Chinese (Ming) noble who was warden of the marches. 
Nurhachi, enraged at this outrage, collected his forces 
and demanded reparation from the Mings and the return 
of the bodies for burial. The Mings, already in difficulties, 
agreed with their adversary quickly, apologised, and sent 
presents of horses and silk, besides conferring on Nurhachi 
the title of " Dragon and Tiger General " and Warden of 
the Marches of Chien Chou. But Nurhachi's wrath was 
not appeased. He demanded the surrender of the tribes- 

138 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

men who had done the deed. This was refused, and from 
that time forward all his energies were concentrated on 
revenge. For years he worked, consolidating his forces 
and organising the tribes to a pitch of military efficiency 
hitherto unknown, so that he became a constant and 
serious menace on China's northern frontiers. In 1586 
he had become the recognised ruler of the five Manchu 
tribes, and the Court of China had agreed to pay him an 
annual " subsidy " of 800 ounces of silver and fifteen 
dragon robes, besides allowing him freedom of trade at 
Fushun and other marts. 

From 1593 to 1597 Nurhachi's energies were fully 
engaged in extending his dominion over the Yeho tribe ^ 
and their allies from Mongolia and the Long White Moun- 
tain territory. This inter-tribal warfare, complicated by 
breaches of neutrality by the Mings, continued until 1618, 
when Nurhachi finally invaded the Yeho territory, took 
over twenty of their strongholds by assault, and subjugated 
the entire country between the mouth of the Amur and the 
Tumen River. After this campaign he organised the 
united tribes under four banners, yellow, red, blue and 
white. ^ His armies were drilled and maintained under a 
system of rigid discipline. In the front of each banner 
corps (7500 men) were the armour-clad spearmen; the 
bowmen were in the rear. Each company, of 300 men, 
carried two scaling ladders and twenty siege catapults. 
In storming a city each company was required to advance 
as a compact unit; individual initiative was discouraged 
and personal bravery unrewarded. The company which 
entered the city first received rewards and promotion. 
In judging between the claims of the several companies 
the Princes of the Blood were constituted a Court of 
Appeal, with Nurhachi as final arbiter. 

^ Afterwards famous as the Yehonala Manchu Clan. The Nalas were 
another tribe, conquered by the Yehos. 

2 The four striped banners Avere created later. 

139 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

In 1616 Nurhachi assumed the reign title of T'ien Ming, 
or " Heaven appointed," and the dynastic name of Manchu. 
Being then about to deUver his last combined assault on 
the Yeho tribe, which alone continued to deny his supre- 
macy, he sent an envoy to the Mings, demanding that 
China should maintain strict neutrality. This the Mings 
refused. Accordingly, in 1618, having dealt with the 
Yehos, Nurhachi declared war upon China, taking a solemn 
oath in the presence of his army that he would exact full 
reparation for the wrongs and indignities put upon him. 
These he stated categorically, as follows : 

1. The wanton murder of his father and grandfather; 

2. Violations of treaty in crossing the frontier and 

assisting the Yeho tribe; 

3. Illegal acts by Chinese subjects, who had crossed the 

frontier to steal ginseng and timber; 

and several other grievances of a similar nature. 

In 1619 the Mings made a determined attempt to crush 
the power growing on their northern frontiers, and sent 
a large army, with orders to concentrate at Moukden, and 
thence advance from both sides on Hsing Ching, Nurhachi 's 
capital. The story of that splendid campaign is well told 
in the annals of the dynasty, but cannot be given here; 
nor have we space to recount the desultory frontier 
warfare of the next seventeen years. It was during these 
years that Nurhachi perfected his famous left wing as an 
invincible fighting force, certainly the finest the East had 
seen for many centuries, hardy veterans, war-seasoned, and 
moving as one man. Nurhachi himself displayed all the 
qualities of a great leader and of a strategist, and became 
the idol of his troops. In the campaign of 1619, with 
forces numbering less than 50,000 men, he defeated and 
scattered in rapid succession the four armies of the Mings, 
which, with their Korean levies, numbered over 400,000. 
He took 30,000 prisoners and much booty, and finally 

140 



J 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

established his supremacy, not only over the Yeho tribe, 
but throughout the frontier lands previously held by 
China. Here, then, were laid the firm foundations of the 
Manchu power. 

Such fluctuating successes as fell to the Mings during 
the next few years were ascribed by Nurhachi himself 
partly to the superior artillery (foreign cannon which 
the Mings had received from the Portuguese by the aid 
of the Jesuits at their Court) and partly to the principles 
which the best amongst the Chinese Generals had imbibed 
from the teaching of the Sages. But most of all he attri- 
buted his own triumphs and the impending doom of the 
Chinese dynasty to the eunuch-ridden Court and the 
pernicious interference of its intriguing officials with its 
Generals in the field. The best of these were under no 
illusions as to the cause of their repeated defeats and 
persistent disorganisation; witness the following pathetic 
defence offered before the Throne by General Hsiung, one 
of the ablest and bravest commanders of the Ming forces. 

" None of the officials who surround Your Majesty," 
he said, " has any knowledge of the art of war. If they 
hear that the enemy is retreating or even delaying his 
attack they all proceed to clamour against me for not 
advancing, whether I am ready to do so or not. If, then, 
in obedience to the Throne, I reluctantly engage the 
enemy and am defeated, not one of them recalls the fact 
that the disaster is principally due to his own advice. 
When, again, after a time, I have rallied and reorganised 
my forces, the cry goes up at Court for drastic measures, 
and they blame me for procrastination. I am quite strong 
enough to hold for Your Majesty the whole of the Liao 
Tung peninsula, but I am not able to silence the foolish 
and envious tongues of my detractors. No sooner do I 
leave Your Majesty's presence and the capital, than the 
voice of calumny is raised against me. If you do not 
actually clog and hamper my movements by appointing 

141 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

some incompetent person to watch and advise me, you 
permit my plans to be ruined by the interference of arm- 
chair critics." 

Another brave and successful commander of the Ming 
armies, General Sun, was even more outspoken. " Your 
Majesty's forces," he observed, " have lately been de- 
prived of their necessary training and often of their pay. 
Instead of leaving the command in the hands of competent 
military officers, you dispatch ignorant civilians to train 
the troops. In battle the supreme command devolves 
upon some high civil functionary, supported by a large 
and quite useless staff of literary men. The tactics which 
your armies are to adopt in the field are discussed at 
supper by your courtiers, or decided by a party of eunuchs 
in the intervals of their debauches." 

Many were the heart-sick patriots and valiant soldiers 
on the Chinese side who perished, like General Yuan at the 
fall of Liao Yang,^ cursing the besotted folly of their 
Sovereign and the name of the infamous Chief Eunuch, 
Wei Chung-hsien. A Commander-in-chief like General 
Hsiung, who refused to placate this notorious favourite, 
was foredoomed to failure and defeat. 

In April 1625, Nurhachi, steadily advancing in strength, 
established his capital at Moukden, choosing that city 
because, as he said, " it is a position from which the Liao 
river may speedily be crossed in the event of trouble 
arising on the Chinese frontier; the road to Korea lies 
conveniently near, and if we wish to invade Mongolia, it 
is within two days' march." At this period General Sun 
(above referred to) had been given a fairly free hand for 
two or three years, and had succeeded in recovering from 
Nurhachi's forces practically all China's territory west of 

^ This brave man, seeing that the city was lost, hanged himself in 
the city tower, from which he had directed the defence, with his sword 
bvickled on and in his hand the seal of his office. The Censor Chang 
Ch'iian and many other officers followed his example. 

142 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the Liao. But^Wei^Chung-hsien, failing to secure largesse 
from Sun, persuaded the Emperor to supersede him. 
His successor, Kao Ti, evacuated all the important 
strategic points which Sun had held beyond the Great 
Wall, and fell back on Shan Hai-kuan. 

In 1626, Nurhachi, rightly despising Kao Ti, decided to 
cross the Liao and invade China and attack the stronghold 
of Ning Yiian. Kao Ti was for abandoning the place, 
but General Yiian, in command of the garrison, wrote 
with his own blood an oath, to which his officers sub- 
scribed, that they would defend it to the end. Yiian did 
deadly execution with his European artillery, and for the 
first time in his forty years of warfare Nurhachi was 
repulsed. He returned to Moukden, much chagrined 
and shaken by this reverse ; and on the 30th of September 
this warrior-monarch died, in the sixty-eighth year of his 
age, and Huang Taiki, his fourth son, reigned in his stead. 

Huang Taiki reigned under the title of T'ien Tsung 
("Heaven-obeying") and was posthumously canonised as 
T'ai Tsung, " the Illustrious Ancestor." A great soldier 
and an empire builder like his father, he was also a far- 
seeing statesman. Looking forward with certainty to the 
day when his forces would be able to seize the Throne of 
the degenerate Mings, he perceived the political and strategic 
necessity of establishing his dominion over Korea on his 
eastern, and Mongolia on his north-western, borders, since 
the rulers of both countries were feudatories of China. 
Therefore, after the death of his father, he welcomed the 
overtures made by General Yiian, who sent priests to 
Moukden to present condolences and incidentally to dis- 
cuss the preliminaries for a treaty of peace. Neither side 
desired peace, but both wished to gain time ; T'ai Tsung 
for his conquest of Korea, and the Chinese General for the 
rebuilding of the fortresses at Chin-chou, Ta Ling-ho and 
other points west of the Liao. The treaty negotiations 
were interesting but abortive. 

143 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

The Manchu expedition to Korea, under Prince Amin, 
was completely successful, but the final conquest of the 
country was not undertaken at this period, because, 
after the conclusion of a treaty which fixed the frontier 
at the Yalu river, T'ai Tsung ordered the army to return. 
Hearing that General Yuan was making rapid progress 
with the rebuilding of his fortresses, he desired to take the 
field against him in force. The army from Korea returned 
in triumph in May 1627, and a month later T'ai Tsung 
once more crossed the Liao river; but again the garrison 
of Ning Yiian, making good use of their cannon, repelled 
the invaders. Once more, for several years, the tide of 
war ebbed and flowed over a region which seems destined 
ever to be the cockpit of furthest Asia. Despairing of 
taking the city so long as General Yiian was in command 
of its defences, the Manchus planned and executed a 
successful raid through Mongolia into Chihli, when the 
future conquerors of China first set eyes upon the yellow 
roofs of the Forbidden City. T'ai Tsung led his raiders 
in force from the North- West Gate of the capital round 
to the Hunting Park on the South, where he encamped. 
Here, coming up by forced marches in response to the 
Court's urgent summons. General Yiian found him; at 
this juncture the Mings might have recovered their 
territory and their prestige had the wretched Ch'ung Chen 
but trusted the ablest and bravest defender of his Empire. 
T'ai Tsung saw himself caught in a tight place, and, while 
avoiding a decisive battle, bethought him of a stratagem 
which he had learned from Chinese history, a ruse which 
seems to have been applied frequently with success to the 
undoing of a Court infested with cowardly traitors. He 
arranged that two of the Palace eunuchs, who were 
captives in his camp, should overhear a conversation 
between his Generals and himself in which they spoke of 
Yiian as a traitor about to come over to the Manchu 
side. Next day the eunuchs were allowed to escape, and 

144. 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

hastened to Court with their evil tidings. The scheme 
worked. Yiian was arrested and thrown into prison, and 
the General appointed to his command was routed by T'ai 
Tsung after a battle fought outside the Yung- Ting Gate 
of the city. After this victory, as Peking lay paralysed 
with terror before the invaders, T'ai Tsung's brothers and 
his son, Prince Su, begged him to finish his work then and 
there by seizing the capital and the Throne of the Mings. 
But T'ai Tsung was a far-seeing and prudent ruler. " To 
take the city would be easy enough," he replied, " but the 
time is not yet. Their outlying defences are still untaken, 
we have established no terror in the heart of China proper. 
If we took Peking to-day we should not be strong enough 
to hold it. It will take some years to dissipate the 
remaining forces of the Mings. No; let us return to our 
own place and prepare for the hour of destiny, when God 
shall deliver the whole Empire into our hands." So the 
Manchu army withdrew, fighting several rearguard actions 
on their homeward way, and returned to Moukden. There 
the Emperor gave serious attention to the manufacture 
of cannon of the European type, and engaged the services 
of several experts to manufacture guns of the kind which 
the Red Barbarians (Portuguese) had supplied in large 
numbers to the Mings. The first of these, known as the 
" Great General," was cast at Moukden in 1631. 

In 1633 T'ai Tsung took Port Arthur and the islands 
off the Liao-tung coast. In the same year he decided on 
opening up a new path of invasion into China by the 
subjugation of the Chahar Mongols. This he did, and 
henceforward the road to Peking lay open through the 
pass of Kalgan. By this road his cavalry made fre- 
quent raids into Shansi and Chihli, until the name and 
fame of the Manchus were known beyond the Yellow 
River. 

The subjugation of the Chahar Mongols was followed 
in 1635 by the submission of all the remaining tribes 
L 145 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

south of the Gobi, whose chief Eje,^ handed over to 
T'ai Tsung the great State-seal of China, which had 
formerly been that of the Mongol (Yiian) dynasty 
(1206-1333). In commemoration of this great event, 
the Prince of the Khorchin Mongols came, at the head 
of all the tribes which inhabit the region South of the 
Gobi desert, and begged T'ai Tsung to assume the Imperial 
title. From this time forward the dynasty was established 
under the title of Ta Ching (" Great Pure "). In return 
for their allegiance, the Manchu Emperor conferred upon 
the leading Mongol Khans princely rank and dignities 
in the Manchu hierarchy. Also, he appointed chieftains 
over their banners and guaranteed them annual sub- 
sidies for war service. Thenceforward the Khorchin and 
other tribes intermarried freely with the Manchus. 

Meanwhile, Korea, believing T'ai Tsung's hands to be 
full with the Mongols and the Mings, refused to recognise 
the new Empire, and treated its envoys with truculent 
rudeness. Desiring to consolidate his Empire on its 
eastern borders before proceeding to the conquest of 
China, T'ai Tsung determined to chastise the ruler of the 
hermit kingdom. But first, in order to keep the attention 
of the Mings engaged within their own borders, he organ- 
ised a raiding expedition into China, which started in the 
winter of 1635. It revealed the utter defencelessness of the 
Chinese provinces, and created a thirst for loot amongst 
the Manchus and their Mongol levies which was to bear 
bitter fruit in days to come. Thirteen cities in Chihli 
were taken and sacked before the raiders, staggering under 
their booty, returned to Manchuria. 

In January 1637, the Mongol Princes with their levies 
assembled at Moiikden to follow T'ai Tsung in the in- 
vasion of Korea. The Emperor led his main force in 
person ; commanding the famous left wing was his brother 

1 Ej e was a direct descendant of Dayeri, whose ancestor was the last 
Mongol Emperor. 

146 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Dorgun (Prince Jui), while to another brother, Prince Yii, 
he gave command of a picked body of cavalry whose orders 
were to make straight for Seoul. When this force drew 
rein at the gates of his capital and demanded its surrender, 
the Korean King, an arrant coward, forgot his truculence, 
and sent a herald expressing his hope that the invaders 
were not tired after their long journey. Thereafter he 
fied to a refuge in the neighbouring hills, whence he sent 
abject apologies to T'ai Tsung, without avail. By the end 
of February T'ai Tsung and his army were encamped 
close to Seoul. The Emperor declined to discuss con- 
ditions, and sternly bade the wretched King come down 
and present himself for audience at the camp. Even- 
tually, his followers having dispersed, he came in, made 
obeisance, and handed over to T'ai Tsung the patent of 
kingship, which he had received from the Mings. His 
two sons were taken as hostages to Moukden, and he was 
permitted to retain the Throne as a vassal of the Manchu 
Empire, in which condition the Kings of Korea remained, 
more or less loyally, until 1894, when the Manchu power 
was challenged and upset by Japan. 

After his return from Korea in 1638, T'ai Tsung sent 
an army under Dorgun to make another raid upon China. 
The Ming Throne was visibly tottering; but its forces 
were gathered to resist the invasion and might have 
succeeded had it not been for the intrigues of the Court 
against General Lu, the Commander-in-chief. The 
Manchus, marching southwards and east, took city after 
city, from the neighbourhood of Peking to Chi-Nan fu, 
the capital of Shantung, where they got much plunder 
and captured Prince Te, a cousin of the Ming Emperor, 
who was taken in triumph to Moukden. 

But none of these military operations were intended to 
effect a permanent occupation of Chinese territory, nor 
could Peking itself be safely held so long as the Chinese 
armies continued to hold the various fortresses and walled 

147 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

cities along the Liao River. The operations against 
Chinchou, Sungshan, Shan Hai-kuan, and Ning Yiian 
had been dragging on, amidst more or less desultory war- 
fare, for several years, and still three of China's most 
capable soldiers (of whom one was Wu San-kuei) con- 
tinued to hold their own. Early in 1641, Prince Cheng, 
T'ai Tsung's first cousin, took command of the Manchu 
forces in this region and put heart into their attacks. 
By the spring of 1642 only Ning Yiian, defended by Wu 
San-kuei, remained untaken. 

The Ming dynasty was now nearing the end of its 
resources. The military operations against the Manchus 
were draining the impoverished treasury of more than 
17,000,000 taels a year, more than half the military 
purposes' taxation of the Empire. Nevertheless, despite 
the increasing urgency of the danger created by Li Tzu- 
ch'eng's rebellion, the eunuchs and household officials 
were all for an aggressive policy against the Manchus 
and half-hearted operations against the rebels. The war 
party at Peking had induced the vacillating Emperor to put 
to death two high officials who had advised him to make 
peace with T'ai Tsung, and the latter' s despatch to Ch'ung 
Chen, suggesting friendly negotiations, had been suppressed. 

Nevertheless, when the situation at Shan Hai-kuan was 
becoming desperate, the President of the Board of War 
in Peking succeeded in persuading Ch'ung Chen to sanction 
the sending of emissaries to Moukden with a letter asking 
for a cessation of hostilities. But even now the arrogant 
folly of the intractable mandarins ruined a wise policy. 
The Emperor's letter was written in the form of a decree, 
and couched accordingly in haughty terms. " A Decree 
to Our Minister of War, Ch'en Hsin-chia. You inform Us 
that a wish prevails in Moukden to put an end to the 
calamities of war. We have hesitated to believe this 
report, inasmuch as Our provincial authorities have said 
nothing on the subject to Us, but since you assure Us of 

148 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

its absolute accuracy, and guarantee that the Manchus 
are acting in good faith, We feel that, so far as We are 
concerned, there need be no difficulty in agreeing thereto, 
animated as We are by feelings of indulgence towards all 
strangers from afar. We shall thus be acting in respectful 
accordance with the merciful principles of the Almighty, 
and shall restore the immemorial relations of generous 
condescension shown by Our ancestors towards the 
Manchu tribes. We empower you to dispatch duly 
qualified persons to notify Our wishes in the matter, and 
you are to report to Us on receipt of definite information 
in regard thereto." 

On receipt of this communication the Emperor T'ai 
Tsung issued the following decree in reply : " The letter 
brought me by your envoys is not satisfactory in form. 
If it is meant to be a communication to Us, why does your 
Sovereign call it a Decree to Ch'en Hsin-chia? If it is 
a decree from your Sovereign to Ch'en Hsin-chia, why 
does he seal it with the Imperial seal ? Besides, the shape 
of the seal is oblong and not, as custom requires, square. 
In a matter of this kind it is impossible to sanction any 
deviation from usage. It is clear to me from the shape of 
the seal that the letter is not genuine or, if genuine, that 
it is sealed in this way for purposes of subsequent repudia- 
tion. The letter fails to suggest to my mind any sincere 
desire for peace. The sentence, ' Animated as we are by 
feelings of indulgence towards strangers from afar,' and 
that which ends with the words ' generous condescen- 
sion . . . towards the Manchu tribes,' betray a spirit 
of haughty contempt for my nation which contradicts 
the idea of a desire for peace on the part of the Mings. 
Disregarding these cunning evasions, I will now set forth 
the plain facts of the case : Hostilities were originally 
commenced by my people with extreme reluctance, caused 
solely by the unbearable insults heaped upon us by you 
Mings, and by your flagrant disregard of right and wrong. 

149 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Whenever I have made overtures of peace you have 
flouted them. To-day, it would seem, you Mings are 
anxious for peace, but it is impossible to be sure of your 
bona fides. In any case, desirous as I am for peace, I am 
not to be coerced into making it. By the abundant favour 
of the Almighty, I now possess all the territory which 
formerly belonged to the Chin Tartars; the descendants 
of the Yiian dynasty and Korea have accepted my 
suzerainty. Several millions of Ming subjects have sub- 
mitted to me; everywhere my arms have triumphed. 
In the interests of the people of both nations I desire 
peace, but only on a footing of absolute equality between 
the contracting parties. There must be no question of 
' central ' and ' outside ' nations, nor of great and small 
kingdoms. Trade shall be conducted on equal terms 
between our respective subjects, and each nation shall 
make annual gifts to the other. In this way great happi- 
ness may accrue both to rulers and ruled, and we shall 
enjoy the blessings of peace. My dynasty, in spite of its 
martial prowess and the prosperity which it enjoys, longs 
ardently for peace, but you Mings ignore my communica- 
tions, and your Sovereign, in the fond. belief that he is the 
Son of Heaven, displays contemptuous arrogance towards 
his equals, and indulges in vain boasting ; surely his desire 
for peace can only be skin-deep. Know you that Heaven 
has no favourites; the Almighty giveth dominion to the 
just and overwhelmeth the evil-doer. Look you now : 
has China been governed by one and the same dynasty 
from time immemorial ? Are you not aware that none 
has ever enjoyed a perpetual mandate from on high? 
But you Mings, Emperor and Ministers together, reck not 
of these things. You, Emperor and Ministers, are guilty 
of the deaths of millions of your subjects; at your hands 
have they perished, because you have persisted in warring 
against me. What I now tell you is the truth, and I desire 
that it be transmitted to your Emperor." 

150 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

At this juncture a Censor,^ Tsu Ko-fa, advised T'ai Tsung 
to make a proposal to the Mings for the partition of the 
Empire, with the Yellow River (which at that time 
entered the sea in Kiangsu) as boundary, on condition 
that the Mings should send annual tribute to the Manchus. 
T'ai Tsung declined the suggestion, and gave a final audience 
to the Ming representatives, at which he presented them 
with sables and silver ingots, and ordered that a banquet 
be given in their honour. He commanded that they 
should be safely escorted over the frontier, and handed to 
them the following autograph letter for their Sovereign, 
which shows that he was sincerely desirous of peace with 
honour. 

" The first cause of my war against your nation lay in 
the unprovoked murder of my two ancestors by you 
Mings, but my Imperial father, while always ready to 
defend his frontiers, was ever desirous of keeping the 
peace. He would have kept it, but that you Mings com- 
mitted acts of wanton violence and interfered in our 
country's affairs. You demanded that we should restore 
the territory which we had wrested from the Hata tribe 
in battle, and you sent troops to garrison against us strong 
places in the Yeho region. You have violated our terri- 
tory, interfered with our business of husbandry, burned 
our villages, and scattered their inhabitants. For these 
reasons my father found it necessary to establish supre- 
macy over the various tribes, and solemnly declared to 
Heaven and earth his purpose to make war upon you 
Mings. 

" Frequently he attempted to negotiate with you, but 
you ignored his letters. Thanks to the mistakes com- 
mitted by your predecessor and his Ministers, matters 
have now dragged on for years without hope of settle- 

^ One of the numerous Chinese who already then had gone over to 
the winning side, and who, after the conquest became " tribute-eating " 
bannermen. 

151 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

ment. I do not blame Your Majesty for these things; I 
am merely stating the plain rights of the case. 

" If now I am prepared to make peace, it is of my own 
free will, no man coercing me. Since my accession to 
the Throne Heaven has plentifully blessed my endeavours, 
and all the territory of the coast has been won by my 
arms. The population of the northern regions is nomadic, 
and not addicted to husbandry. Their domestic animals 
are the dog and the deer; their occupations, hunting and 
fishing. All North Manchuria has submitted to me ; nay, 
even the descendants of the Mongol Emperors and Korea 
have owned my supremacy. 

" In response to the request of my Mongol vassals and 
of the Princes of my family I have announced to Heaven 
and earth that We have assumed the dynastic title of 
Ta Ching, ' Great Pure,' and changed my reign title to 
that of ' Consummate Virtue.' 

" We have vanquished your troops on every occasion 
that we have invaded your territory. There would not 
be the slightest difficulty in advancing still further and 
in making our occupation permanent. At our approach 
your cities fall; your battle line breaks in disarray. 

" But, in the interests of our subjects, my mind is still 
set on peace. Sooner or later, retribution is visited by 
Heaven on him who lusts after conquest, while the 
humane receive their just reward. If our two States can 
only realise where true happiness lies, and establish 
relations of cordial and confident friendship, all the ill- 
feeling of the past may easily be buried in oblivion. 
What cause is there for either party to arrogate to itself 
superiority over the other ? The adage says : ' To under- 
stand everything is to forgive, but a lack of comprehension 
breeds hatred.' 

" I am ready to receive your embassies in audience, and 
it behoves you to grant equal favours to mine. In this 
way peace between us may be perpetual. But should 

152 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

you persist in asserting these exaggerated ideas of your 
own importance, and refuse to meet my envoys face to 
face, as if they were unworthy to enter your sacred 
presence, it is useless to hope for any good understanding 
between us, and nothing but disaster will accrue to your 
State. 

" Do you imagine, forsooth, that your majestic dignity 
is in any way enhanced by a discourteous refusal to 
receive my envoys ? Have not our peoples always been 
wont to exchange ambassadorial visits on occasions of 
ceremony or Court mourning, to convey congratulations 
or condolences, and has it not been your custom to send 
us annual gifts, 10,000 taels of gold, 100,000 of silver, in 
exchange for which we have presented to you 1000 lbs. 
of ginseng and 1000 sable skins ? In future, should any 
fugitives from our justice, Manchu, Mongol, Chinese or 
Korean, escape into your territory, it shall be your duty 
to hand them over to us ; we for our part will do the same 
with your fugitives. Your boundary shall be the range 
of mountains between Ning Yiian and Shuang-shu p'i, 
while our frontier shall be Pagoda Mountain. Lien Shan 
Bay shall be neutral territory, and subjects of both nations 
shall be permitted to trade there. Any one violating 
these respective boundaries shall be punished with death. 
Coastal fishing shall be similarly confined within certain 
boundaries to Manchus and Chinese respectively. If you 
approve of the above conditions and are ready to make 
peace, we can either proceed ourselves in person to an- 
nounce the solemn compact to the Most High or depute 
officials to represent us and exchange the respective 
treaties. If you refuse peace on these terms, pray send us 
no more envoys, and hereafter whatsoever misfortunes 
may befall your people will be no fault of mine. I now 
hand this letter to your emissaries, and have arranged 
for their safe convoy through my territory, past my out- 
posts at Chinchou, as far as Lien Shan." 

153 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

The Ming envoys knelt once and kotowed thrice on 
entering and leaving the Presence; they handed in a 
further decree from the Ming Emperor addressed, like the 
last, to his Board of War, in which the Monarch asked for 
news of the negotiations, and gave the mission full powers 
to enter into a treaty at Moukden, but there was still no 
direct communication from Ch'ung Chen to his brother 
Sovereign. 

Unfortunately for the possible success of this mission, 
the Ming Emperor's instructions to keep its results strictly 
secret were disregarded. When the envoys returned to 
Peking they handed in T'ai Tsung's letter and the other 
documents to Ch'en Hsin-chia, the President of the Board 
of War, who was proceeding to draft a favourable report 
to the Throne when, through the error (possibly inten- 
tional) of a servant, copies of the Ming Emperor's decrees 
and a full account of the negotiations were published in 
the official Peking Gazette. Ch'ung Chen had specially 
enjoined Ch'en to maintain rigid secrecy, and was, there- 
fore, exceedingly wrath at these disclosures. As he had 
expected, the Censors poured in violent memorials of 
impeachment, denouncing Ch'en as a traitor for endeavour- 
ing to make peace with the Manchus. Ch'ung Chen issued 
a decree ordering Ch'en to explain his action; but the 
Minister declined to' accept any blame for his conduct, 
and sent in a memorial asserting boldly that by these 
negotiations he had rendered a great service to the 
Throne. Ch'ung Chen felt that he had lost much face, 
and as usual recovered it by ordering the luckless 
Minister's public decapitation. So the mission was a 
failure, and the war went on. Quos Deus vult perdere 
prius dementat. 

An interesting memorial by one of the Manchu Court's 
Censors at this date observed, " Wu San-kuei is still 
holding out at Ning Yiian, but the garrison are in piteous 
straits and the city must soon fall. Wu is exceedingly 

154 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

suspicious of our intentions, it therefore behoves Your 
Majesty to capture him by strategy. Once Ning Yiian 
and Shan Hai-kuan have fallen, Peking is ours. The 
Court will flee to Nanking, and the Manchus will be masters 
of China." 

Another Chinese adherent of the Manchus memorialised, 
advising T'ai Tsung to march on Peking through Mongolia, 
leaving Shan Hai-kuan isolated. To this he replied : 
" The capture of Peking may be likened to the cutting 
down of a great tree. First dig up all the wide- spreading 
roots and the trunk will fall of itself. Each day lessens 
the power of the Mings and increases ours. Before long 
Peking will fall like a ripe apple into our lap." 

The apple was ripening fast. T'ai Tsung, to hasten the 
inevitable end, now dispatched a large army into China 
under his elder brother. Prince Abtai. In an address to 
this force he said : " We are no lovers of prolonged war, 
but our attempts to secure peace have been brought to 
nought by the purblind obstinacy of the Mings. We 
now, therefore, command you to invade China and smite 
them hip and thigh. Take no innocent life, carry off no 
man's wife and family, nor any wearing apparel. Loot 
not to excess. Plunder no stores of grain except when it 
is needed for your use. During the last expedition to 
Shantung there were instances of people being beaten to 
death in order to make them give up treasure. Such 
atrocities are a violation of the humane principles by 
which we are inspired. Bring back all your captives 
uninjured, that they may join our ranks." The Emperor 
accompanied the army as far as the suburbs of Moukden 
and then bade it farewell. In a few parting words he 
warned them against the pride which precedes a fall, and 
advised that if they should fall in with any of the forces 
of the rebels, then approaching Peking, they should en- 
deavour by soft words to win them over to the Manchu 
side. 

155 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

He handed to Abtai his seal of office. Three salvoes 
of artillery were fired, and the army, in three divisions, 
set forth. This was in November 1642. The expedition 
proved a brilliant success. The invaders broke through 
the Great Wall near the spot where now stand the Manchu 
dynasty's Eastern Tombs, ^ and from Chichou marched 
southwards. In South Chihli and Shantung they cap- 
tured eighty-eight walled cities, and advanced as far as 
Yenchou-fu in Southern Shantung. In March of the 
following year they re-entered Chihli. T'ai Tsung's orders 
about looting had not been taken too literally, for their 
train of camels and baggage wagons extended over a 
length of near a hundred miles. To cut them off from 
Manchuria a large body of Ming troops had collected at 
Tien-chen under the Grand Secretary Chou Yen-ju, but 
he feared to give battle, contenting himself with dispatching 
to Peking bombastic reports of a glorious victory. The 
only engagement which took place was at Shell Mountain, 
some thirty miles north of Peking, where the Mings, under 
the Viceroy of Chihli and Liaotung, were badly defeated. 
At this time the Mings had no fewer than four Viceroys 
in command of their territory surrounding the Great Wall, 
six Governors, eight Generals-in-chief, not to mention a 
eunuch Commander-in-chief, who tried to concentrate all 
authority in his oVn hands and tyrannised over his 
colleagues. There was thus no attempt at co-ordination, 
and Li Tzii-ch'eng's rebels were daily advancing nearer 
to Peking. 

In July 1643, the Manchu armies returned to Moukden, 
where they were cordially welcomed by T'ai Tsung, who 
went to meet them beyond the walls. The expedition 
had put to death the Ming Prince Lu and five other Princes 
of the Imperial family, as well as a thousand of the 
Imperial clan. They had taken possession of three 
prefectures, eighteen departments and sixty-seven district 

^ Where K'anghsi, Ch'ien Lung and Tzu Hsi lie buried. 

156 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

cities, and routed the enemy in thirty-seven engagements. 
They had secured booty to the amount of 12,250 ounces 
of gold, 12,250,277 ounces of silver, 4,440 ounces of pearls, 
52,234 rolls of satin and silks, 33,720 suits of raiment. 111 
fur coats, 500 sable skins, 1,600 deer horns, and had taken 
369,000 captives, besides 551,312 beasts of burden, camels 
and oxen. One-third of this booty was divided among the 
officers and men; immense quantities of private loot 
were also secreted by individuals. 

The Emperor T'ai Tsung sacrificed at his father's tomb 
on the Buddhist All Souls' Day (the 15th of the 7th Moon), 
when the Mongol Tushetu Khan came to present his 
congratulations at the head of his tribe. He then went 
on a hunting trip, on returning from which he had to 
undergo a long and fatiguing day of audiences in the 
Moukden Palace. At 11 p.m. on the 9th of the 8th Moon 
(Sept. 21, 1643) he repaired to his bed-chamber, and 
there, sitting bolt upright in his chair of state, expired 
without a word, doubtless from heart failure. He was 
then in his fifty-first year. He had prepared no vale- 
dictory decree nor any instructions regarding the succes- 
sion. By the laws of the dynasty his eldest son, Meng Ko, 
Prince Su, then in his twenty-ninth year, should have 
succeeded him, but this would have thwarted the ambi- 
tions of the surviving sons of Nurhachi, especially those 
of his fourteenth son Dorgun (Prince Jui), who had 
designs on the Regency, since he could not legally aspire 
to the Throne. T'ai Tsung's eldest surviving brother, 
Taishan (Prince Li), was crippled with rheumatism, and 
was, therefore, incapable of advancing his claims. So T'ai 
Tsung's ninth son, Fu Lin, a child of five and a half years, 
was placed on the Throne by his ambitious uncle, Prince 
Jui, who, secure in the Regency, could look forward to 
many years of power. 

Although T'ai Tsung's other brothers were jealous of 
Dorgun' s assumption of the Regency, his claims as a 

157 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

military leader were indisputable, and their assertion was 
justified by the approval of the bannermen. The young 
Emperor was a child of splendid physique; he had de- 
lighted his father by his promise of athletic prowess, and 
had accompanied him on the hunting expedition of the 
previous spring. His mother, a Mongol Princess of the 
Khorchin tribe, was a very remarkable woman, and 
exercised great influence over her son, and later in life 
over her grandson, K'ang Hsi. It was thought strange 
at the time that she acquiesced so readily in Dorgun's 
usurpation of power during the Emperor's minority, but 
she decided, no doubt, that the consolidation and ex- 
tension of the Empire were more important than any 
internal or domestic questions. 

The new reign opened auspiciously : the King of Korea 
sent a mission with tribute, and received in reply a graci- 
ously condescending message. Prince Cheng, Co-Regent 
with Dorgun, was dispatched from Moukden to attack 
the Ming stronghold at Chung Hou-so. He took with 
him a large number of European guns which had been 
captured from the Mings. The city was bombarded 
and taken by assault, some 4,000 men being killed 
and as many captured. The Manchus now held every 
important point, except Ning Yiian, outside the Great 
Wall. The expedition returned into winter quarters at 
Moukden, and spent that season in casting a number of 
guns for the next campaign in China. 

By the spring of 1644 all was ready for the final over- 
throw of the Mings ; Prince Jui appointed himself General- 
issimo of the army, and no doubt cherished ambitions of 
eventually securing the Throne after the fall of Peking. 
Suddenly news reached Moukden that Wu San-kuei had 
evacuated Ning Yiian, which had so long defied all 
attacks, and that his force was retreating towards the 
capital. The Manchus were unaware that Li Tzu-ch'eng 
and his rebel hordes were already at Peking, and that the 

158 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

dynasty had collapsed. The Regent was urged to march 
without delay upon the capital and to effect its permanent 
occupation. His Grand Secretary, Fan Wen-ch'eng, 
pointed out that the Manchus had frequently overrun 
Chihli; thrice already they had put to the sword the 
inhabitants of Yung-ping, and had evacuated Tsun-hua 
after holding it for several months. Such tactics created 
an impression that they were merely raiders and marauders 
of the marches. They should now establish strict discip- 
line and forbid all looting; the Ming officials should be 
retained in their posts, so as to mark clearly the difference 
between Manchu rule and the brigandage of Li Tzii-ch'eng. 
The rebels would assuredly consolidate their power unless 
the Manchus struck promptly. If they could but secure 
the region north of the Yellow River, all China must be 
theirs, sooner or later. Before the army left, a solemn 
sacrifice was offered to the manes of Nurhachi and his son ; 
thereafter the boy Emperor himself presented Dorgun 
with the seal and patent of his office. The edict issued 
on this occasion declared, in the best classical manner, 
that while Korea and Mongolia had acknowledged his 
dynasty's sovereignty, the Chinese still remained stubborn. 
His Majesty, unfortunately, was too young to lead his 
armies in person and had, therefore, entrusted this duty to 
his uncle, on whom he now bestowed a canopy of Imperial 
yellow, two dragon banners, a cap of fox- skin, sable robes, 
a sable rug and dragon robes. The Throne — which meant 
the power of the pens behind it — retained its prerogatives 
as regards directing the conduct of the campaign. The 
edict concluded : " Let there be complete harmony 
among you, so that success may be achieved, and the 
august Shades of the mighty dead be comforted. Be 
reverent." 

Prince Jui bowed the knee thrice and kotowed nine 
times. His army, which was to establish the Manchu 
rulers upon the Dragon Throne, comprised two-thirds of 

159 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

the Manchu and Mongol banners; ^ and all the Chinese 
(Hanchiin) levies. The other third of the Manchus and 
Mongols remained to guard the young Emperor and his 
capital. 

The rest of the story has already been told. As soon 
as Wu San-kuei had been dispatched by the Regent to 
occupy and exhaust his formidable army in the congenial 
task of pursuing the booty-laden rebels, the Regent settled 
down to consolidate the Manchu power against all possible 
attacks, and to re-organise the Government upon just and 
liberal principles. With the courage of a great soldier 
and the skill of a great statesman he laid the foundations 
of the dynastic rule, which the young Emperor Shun 
Chih and his immediate descendants were destined to 
carry to an eminence of fame rarely equalled in the history 
of China. 

We have thought it advisable to narrate thus fully the 
origin and history of the warlike clansmen who replaced 
the Mings, and thereafter ruled over the world's largest 
Empire for 270 years, because some knowledge of the 
antecedents and traditions of the Imperial Clans is neces- 
sary to a proper appreciation of many later events in the 

1 The Manchu dynasty instituted three superior and five inferior 
banners, to one of whj,ch every Manchu belonged, as well as all the 
Mongols and Chinese who had assisted in the conquest of China. The 
three superior banners are : Bordered yellow, plain yellow, and plain 
white. The five inferior : Bordered white, plain red, bordered red, 
plain blue and bordered blue. After the conquest, the inner city of 
Peking was assigned to the several banners by districts, starting from 
the North. The colours were supposed to represent the five elements : 
earth, metal, wood, fire and water. The yellow banners, which were 
quartered in the North of the city, represented earth, supposed by the 
Chinese to subdue the element of water. The white banners held the 
North-East and North-West of the city, immediately to the South of 
the yellow banners ; they represented metal, which is supposed to 
subdue the element of wood. The red banners occupied the quarter 
in the centre, from the Ch'i hua Gate to the " P'ing tse " Gate ; they 
represented the element fire, which subdues metal. Lastly, the blue 
banners were stationed at the extreme South of the Tartar City ; they 
represented water, which subdues fire. 

160 






THE COURT OF PEKING 

history of the dynasty, and of the causes of its subsequent 
falling away from the grace that distinguished Nurhachi 
and his immediate posterity. For the same reason the 
following genealogical tree should be of interest, even 
though to-day that interest has become chiefly historical 
and academic. 



GENEALOGY OF THE HOUSE OF GIORO 

(Founder of the Manchu Dynasty in China) 
TakosM : killed by officers of the Ming Emperor Wanli in 1583. 

His issue : 

1. MurhacM. 

2. Shurhachi : whose son Chirhalang (Prince Cheng) was Co- 

Regent with Prince Jui at Peking in 1643. Founder of the 
hereditary princedom of Cheng. 

3. Nurhachi: whose mother was Sitala; born 1559, died 1626. 

Known in history as Taitsu, " Exalted Founder." Nurhachi 
married a daughter of Prince Yangkunu, Yehonala, who was 
the mother of T'ai Tsung, his successor. She died in 1603. 

Nurhachi had issue : 

1. Arhhatutumen : sentenced to death in 1615; his son, Prince 

Chingchin, was a distinguished soldier, who died about 1650. 

2. Taishan : Prince Li, founder of the senior princely house of 

Li; died in 1648. (The title of Sun was taken by the 
successors of Prince Li for five generations, after which the 
present title of Li was resumed.) 

3. Abai : ennobled as Duke. 

4. Tangkutai. 

5. Mangkurtai : allowed to commit suicide in 1633. 

6. Tapai. 

7. Ahtai : Prince Jaoyii, who died in 1646. 

8. Huangtaiki : who succeeded his father as Emperor. 

9. Baptai. 

10. Deklei : cashiered and removed from the Imperial Clan. 

11. Babuhai. 

12. Achiko : Prince Ying, who was privileged to commit suicide 

by Imperial order in 1651. 

13. Laimpu. 

14. Dorgun : Prince Jui, the Regent; founder of the House of 

Jui. Died in 1650, aged 39. Posthumously accused of 
rebellion against the State, and name removed from the 

M 161 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Imperial Clan. In 1778 his honours were restored to him, 
when he was given the posthumous name of " Loyal," and his 
descendants were allowed to resume their former title. 
15. Toto : Prince Yii, own brother of Dorgun, and founder of the 
House of Yii. Died in 1649. His son, Toni, succeeded as 
Prince Hsin. 

Huangtaiki : known in history as T'ai Tsung or the Illustrious Ancestor. 
Born in 1592. Married Bochito, daughter of the Khorchin 
Prince Sesang, mother of Shunchih, Kang Hsi's Empress 
Grand Dowager, who died in 1688. Succeeded in 1626. 
In 1636 adopted the title of Ta Ch'ing, " Great Pure," for his 
dynasty. Died in 1643. 

His issue were : 

2. Mengko : Prince Su, ancestor of the princely family of Su. 
Imprisoned on a charge of treason in 1648 by the Regent. 
Posthumously canonised with restoration of all his honours 
and titles. 

2. Shosai : Prince Ch'eng Tse ; his son Bokoto was the founder 

of the princely family of Chuang, and ancestor of the Boxer 
Prince of that name who committed suicide. 

3. Kaosai, 

4. Fulin : reigned as Shunchih. 

5. Bomubokorh : Prince Hsiang; died in 1656. 

Emperor Shunchih : born 1638 ; succeeded 1643 ; assumed government 
in 1651, and died in 1661. Married (1) Borchichin of the 
Khorchin Mongol tribe in 1651. She disagreed with her 
sovereign lord, and was reduced to the position of concubine 
of the third rank by the Empress Dowager. (2) A daughter 
of Prince Chorji of the Khorchins, K'ang Hsi's Empress 
Dowager, died in 1718. 

Shun Chih had issue : 

1. Fuchuan : Prince Yu ; died 1703. Referred to by the first 

Russian ambassador to the Court of Peking as the most 
prominent subject of K'ang Hsi. 

2. Hsuanyeh : who became Emperor with reign title of K'ang Hsi. 

3. Changning : Prince Kung; died 1703. His son, Mantuhu, 

joined the rebellious brothers of Yung Cheng. 

K'angHsi : born 1654; assvimed the government in 1667; died 1722. 
His first Empress was a daughter of Gobla of the Hashli 
Clan, who died in 1674. His second was of the Niuhulu 
Clan, a daughter of Duke Obilung — died 1678. His third 
was of the Tungchia Clan — died in 1689. His fourth was 
of the Wuya Clan ; she was the mother of Yung Cheng and 
by him exalted to the rank of Empress on his accession 
to the Throne.^ 

^ K'ang Hsi's sons are enumerated elsewhere : vide pp. 245-247. 

162 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Yung Cheng : born 1678 ; died 1735 ; married the Lady Niuhulu, who 
became the mother of Ch'ien Lung and Empress Dowager 
during his reign. A woman of great strength of character; 
she accompanied her son in many of his journeys all over 
China. Died in 1777, aged 88, the possessor of eighteen 
honorific characters in her title. 

Yung Cheng had issue : 

1. Hungli : who succeeded his father as Ch'ien Lung. During 

his father's lifetime known as Prince Jewel. 

2. Hung-chou : or Prince Ho ; died 1770. 

3. Hungchan : Prince Kuo. As a lad he was called Yuanming- 

yuan or Round Bright Garden (the name of the Summer 
Palace). Was reduced to the rank of Beileh, or Prince of 
the third order, but Ch'ien Lung visited him on his death-bed, 
restored his original princedom, and had him canonised. 
Died in 1765. 

ChHen Lung : born in 1711 ; abdicated in 1796 ; died February 7, 
1799. His first Empress was of the Fucha Clan ; the second 
of the Yehonala Clan. The latter accompanied her husband 
and mother-in-law on an excursion to the South in 1765. 
She misbehaved herself during this journey, treating her 
mother-in-law with flagrant disrespect and flippancy, and 
was sent back in disgrace to Peking from Hangchou, shut up 
in the " Cold Palace," and subsequently deposed. 

Ch'ien Lung had issue : 

1. Yunghuang f Prince Ting, son of a concubine, and ancestor 

of Prince Jii Lang, one of Tzti Hsi's Grand Councillors. This 
Prince Ting was debarred from the succession, owing to his 
being the son of a subordinate concubine. 

2. Yung Lien : created Heir Apparent, but died in 1738, aged 13. 

3. Yung Chang : Prince Hsun, died 1760. 

4. Yung CKeng : Prince Li, who became heir to his uncle, Yun 

Tao, one of Yung Cheng's rebellious brothers. Died in 1777. 

5. Yung ChH : Prince Jung. The Emperor intended him to be 

Heir Apparent on the death of the seventh son, Prince Che. 
He died in 1766, aged 25. 

6. Yung Jung : Prince Chih, made heir to his uncle. Prince Yun 

Hsi. Died in 1790, aged 46. 

7. Yung Tsung : Prince Che. Died 1748, aged 3. 

8. Yung Hsiian : Prince Yi ; held many Government posts as 

adviser to his brother, the Emperor Chia Ch'ing. Died in 
( ?) 1832, aged 86. His son. Mien Chih, succeeded to the Prince- 
dom of Yi which was, however, reduced by one grade. Yi 
Tsai, son of Mien Chih, was declared heir to Prince Ching, 
but was afterwards deprived of the title when the succession 
to the house of Ch'ing went to Mien Ti, adopted father of 
the present Prince Ch'ing. 

163 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

9. Yung Hsing : Prince Ch'eng, a great scholar, and one of the 
most famous caligraphists of the dynasty. Was adviser to 
his brother Chia Ch'ing. Died in 1823, aged 71. Great 
grandfather of Prince Tsai Hsiao. 

10. Yung ChH : died in 1776, aged 25. 

11. Yung Yen : succeeded his father as the Emperor Chia Ch'ing. 

12. Yung Lin : Prince Ch'ing, died 1820, aged 53. Grandfather 

(by adoption) of Yi Kuang, the present Prince Ch'ing, who 
was originally an impoverished Imperial clansman, adopted 
into the nearer branch of the Imperial family. 

Emperor Chia Ch'ing : born 1760 ; created Prince Chia (Admirable) ; 
took over the reins of government in February 1796 ; killed 
by lightning near Jehol, September 1820. Married Hsitala, 
daughter of Horchingo, the mother of Tao kuang, who died 
in 1797, and, en secondes noces, the Lady Niuhulu, who was 
promoted to be Empress shortly after Ch'ien Lung's death. 
She was Taokuang's Empress Dowager, and died in 1850, 
pre-deceasing Taokuang by one month. 

Chia Ch'ing had issue : 

1. Mienning : succeeded his father as Emperor Taokuang. 

2. Mienkai : Prince Tun, died 1839. 

3. Mien Hsin : Prince Huai, died 1828 ; succeeded by Yi Yo, or 

Yichih, as he was subsequently named. Yichih died in 1850, 
and Prince Tuan, the Boxer Prince, was adopted as his heir. 

4. Mien YiX : Prince Hui, died in 1865. His sons were : Yihsiang, 

Yihstin and Yimo. Yihsiin was father of the Duke Tsai Tse, 
Finance Minister towards the end of Tzii Hsi's reign. 

Taokuang : born 1782, succeeded 1820 and died 1850. Married (1) the 
Lady Niuhulu, who died before his accession but was posthu- 
mously made Empress ; (2) Lady Tungchia, who died in 
1833, and (3) Lady Niuhulu, daughter of Yiling, mother of 
the Emperor Hsien Feng; created Empress in 1834, died in 
1840 ; (4) Lady Borjikit, who was instrumental in selecting 
Tzii Hsi for the Palace. She was elevated to be Empress 
Dowager a week before she died, in 1855. 

Taokuang had issue : 

1. Yiwei : son of the concubine Yehonala ; born 1808, died 1831. 

Tasichung (or Tsai Chih, as he was afterwards called), son of 
an Imperial clansman, was adopted as his heir. Tsai Chih's 
son is P'ulun, who very nearly became Emperor in 1875. 

2. Yikang : died in infancy. 

3. Yichi : died in infancy. 

4 Yichu : who reigned as Hsien Feng. 

5 Yitsung : Prince Tun, was adopted as heir to Mienkai (see 

above). His sons were : (a) Tsai Lien, born 1856, one of 
the Boxer Princes. (6) Tsai Yi, Prince Tuan, born December 

164 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

1856. His son, P'uchiin, was the Boxer Heir Apparent (whom 
Tzii Hsi spanked). He married a daughter of the Mongol 
Prince Lo. (c) Tsailan, the Boxer Prince, exiled to Urumchi ; 
born in 1857. (d) Tsaiying. (e) Tsaiching. (/) Tsaihao. 

6. Yihsin: Prince Kung, born 1833, died in 1898. His eldest 

son (a) Tsaich'eng, born in 1857, predeceased his father; 
(b) Tsai Ying, born in 1861, adopted as heir to his uncle, 
Prince Chung, the eighth Prince. P'uwei, the present Prince 
Kung, is his son. P'uwei considers he was wrongfully 
ousted from the Throne on the death of Kuang Hsii. 

7. Yihuan : Prince Ch'un, born 1840, died 1891. Married 

Yehonala, sister of Tzii Hsi, by whom he had issue : (1) Tsai 
Han. (2) Tsai Tien, Emperor Kuang Hsii (some Chinese 
assert that Tzii Hsi was really the mother of Kuang Hsii). 
By another wife of low origin, named Tsui (she was the 
daughter of a groom), he also had issue ; Tsai Feng, the 
Ex-Regent, born 1882, married a daughter of Jung Lu; 
father of the Emperor Hsiian Tung (Pu'yi), born 1906, and 
Pukuang. By the same concubine Tsai Tao was born; his 
elder brother, Tsai Hsiin, is by another concubine. 

8. Yiho : Prince Chung, born 1844, died 1868. 

9. Yihui : Prince Fu, married a niece of Tzii Hsi, and was dismissed 

by her from office in 1898 because of his sympathy towards 
Kuanghsii. He was pardoned in January 1909, on the day 
of Yuan Shih-k'ai's dismissal. 

Hsien Feng : born in 1831, died in 1861. Married (1) Sakota, daughter 
of Muyanga, in 1848, who died in 1850, one month before 
his accession. She was posthumously raised to the rank of 
Empress, and was the " centre " of the three Empresses, 
Tzu An being the " eastern " and Tzii Hsi the " western." 
(2) Niuhulu, also daughter of Muyanga, who was made 
concubine in 1852; afterwards Empress Dowager; died 
April 1881. (3) Yehonala, afterwards Tzii Hsi. 

Hsien Feng had issue : 

1. Tsai Ch'un, born 1856, died 1875, reigned as Tung Chih. 

2. An infant son, who died a few days after birth. 

Tung Chih : married Alute, daughter of Chungchi, who died in 1875. 
Kuang HsU : born August 1871 ; married Yehonala 1899, died 

November 22, 1908. Was practically deposed by Tzii Hsi, 

after the coup d'etat of September 1898. 
Hsiian Tung : (P'uyi) son of Tsai Feng, succeeded November 1908, 

abdicated Februarv 12, 1912. 



165 



CHAPTER VI 

THE MINGS AT NANKING 

Debauched and cowardly as they were, the Princes 
and courtiers of the Mings were not disposed to rehnquish 
without a struggle their rights to the Dragon Throne, or 
their claims to the long-suffering allegiance of the Chinese 
people. After the fall of Peking and the desecration of 
its high places by the rebel hordes of Li Tzu-ch'eng, for 
a time there was nothing but a sauve qui peut, without 
purpose or direction; but when they saw their fierce 
harrier ^ himself driven forth by new conquerors and 
pursued by one who, until then, had been their dynasty's 
mainstay against the Manchus, small wonder that the 
more energetic members of the Imperial family took heart 
of grace and endeavoured to rally their scattered forces 
upon a new centre.^ The sybarite retains to the end his 

1 Li Tzii-ch'eng's nickname was " Prince Harrier." 

2 An initial cause of their disorganisation lay in the fact that the 
Heir Apparent had disappeared after the fall of the city, and that none 
knew if he were alive or dead. Several months after the Manchu 
Emperor had been proclaimed in Peking this Prince's whereabouts 
were unknown, but eventually he was brought secretly by a eunuch 
to the house of one who had had high office under the Mings, and with 
whom the Ming Princess Imperial was residing. The meeting between 
brother and sister was most affecting; he had been in hiding at a 
Buddhist monastery since his escape from the city, but was weary 
of the suspense and grief of his existence, and came to seek his relatives. 
The Princess and his host begged him to change his name and adopt 
a disguise, but he refused. Shortly afterwards he was recognised by 
several renegade officials and eunuchs and thrown into prison by order 
of the Regent. The merchants and gentry of Peking petitioned that 
his young life might be spared, but the Regent had no desire to leave 
a rallying point for the conspiracies of legitimists, and the unfortunate 
youth was put to death by poison in the Board of Punishments. 

166 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

habits and ambitions of luxury, and with the degenerate 
Mings the lust of perquisites and power, of pomp and 
circumstance, was not killed by their cataclysmic disasters. 
For eighteen years, harried from one short-lived capital 
to another, four successive claimants to the Throne of 
their dynasty retained some semblance of their regal 
state and a place in the minds, if not the hearts, of their 
people. During these years there were times when, had 
there been a strong man amongst them, their dominion 
might well have been restored and the Manchus driven 
back, for the Confucian virtues of faithfulness and loyal 
devotion (which have generally characterised the relations 
between the literati and their Sovereign in Chinese history) 
were not lacking at this period; many a brave soldier, 
many a stoic philosopher of the mandarins, upheld the 
proud traditions of their caste, and died rather than 
submit to the rule of the alien, and many millions of the 
" stupid people " went bravely to their graves because 
of that loyalty to the central idea of the Confucian doctrine. 
But the Mings were all unworthy, even in adversity. As 
they had been before the threatening storm, so they re- 
mained when its passing had left their dynasty a tempest- 
driven wreck — ^invertebrate, irresolute to the end. Four 
years after the flight from Peking, when the adherents of 
Kuei Wang, the last of the Mings, were making a successful 
stand in the Kuang provinces, when Coxinja was begin- 
ning to organise new forces of resistance to the Manchus, 
and when several rebel forces had taken the field on their 
own account, a little statesmanship, a little courage, might 
have won the day. But it was not to be. The little Court 
in exile kept up its tinsel state, grateful to its loyal 
adherents only so long as they replenished the Privy 
purse which paid for its revels; leaving its armies un- 
victualled whilst it rehearsed some new play,^ or sent the 

1 It is recorded of Hung Kuang, the first of the fugitive Emperors 
of the Mings, that on a certain occasion, while the Regent's forces 

167 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

eunuchs through the country in search of new favourites 
for the harem of the " Palace," that was now a moving 
tent. 

Under these circumstances, the wretched end of the 
Ming claimants, pursued and slain each in his turn, does 
not excite our sympathies so much as the calamities which 
the miserable people were doomed to bear because of the 
Mings' last struggle for the Throne. History, as usual, says 
but little of the widespread and awful devastation created 
by that struggle, of the pitiful sufferings of the masses; 
that tale was told (as it is being told again in China to-day) 
by cities of the dead, by roofless villages and homeless 
wanderers throughout all the land. In the next chapter, 
which narrates the sack of Yang Chou-fu, the reader will 
find a plain, dispassionate account by an eye-witness of 
the fate which overtook one city because a gallant soldier 
refused to renounce his principles and his allegiance. 
That soldier was General Shih K'o-fa, a staunch loyalist, 
a distinguished scholar, and a man of bravery so rare 
that it won for him the sincere respect and goodwill of 
the Manchu Regent. When the Mings had gathered at 
Nanking and established there, under a grandson of Wan 
Li, the semblance of a Government and a Court, it was to 
Shih K'o-fa that the eyes of all men were turned to prevent 
the Manchu invasion from coming South. 

Had he not been handicapped by the jealous intrigues 
of his rivals at Court, led by one Ma Shih-ying (who had 
been one of the faction of the notorious eunuch Wei 
Chung-hsien), Shih K'o-fa might have been able to hold 
the Manchus in check at the Huai River. Before the 
Regent's forces began their advance towards the Yangtsze 
he had collected and organised an effective army of 60,000 

were advancing to the siege of Yang Chou-fu, his eunuchs, seeing him 
greatly depressed, inquired the cause of his grief. " Wliat distresses 
me," he replied, " is that there is not in all my Court an actor worthy 
of the name." 

168 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Shensi troops. Besides these, the Mings had four divisions, 
of about 10,000 men each, encamped at strategic points 
in the provinces of Anhui and Kiangsu. Shih asked only 
to be given a free hand and independent control over 
these forces, to be relieved of all vexatious interference 
by the courtiers and civil officials at Nanking; but the 
new Emperor, foredoomed to vacillation and folly, gave 
ear to the counsels of Ma Shih-ying, and ordered that the 
Commander-in-chief should act only upon orders from 
Nanking. Meanwhile, he continued to squander money on 
revels and banquets, while the troops in the field were 
left insufficiently fed and clad. 

In the spring of 1645, the dissensions between the rival 
parties at Court prevented the Commander-in-chief from 
carrying out any definite plan of campaign. In an 
eloquent and plain-spoken memorial he placed the facts 
before the Emperor. " Whilst Your Majesty is banqueting 
on choice viands," he wrote, " and quaffing wine from 
beakers of jade, it behoves you to remember your starving 
servants in the North. If, in spite of all his efforts, the late 
Emperor was unable to ward off disaster, how much more 
should you, inferior to him in ability, tremble as one who 
stands on the brink of a precipice. If you perform your 
duties with zeal and vigilance, it may be that your an- 
cestors' spirits in Heaven will intercede with the Almighty 
on your behalf, and that your heritage may be regained. 
But if you remain in idle dalliance in Nanking, lavishing 
favours on sycophants and forgetful of the welfare of your 
troops, if you proclaim our secret plans from the housetops 
and fail to distinguish between loyal devotion and treason, 
if you show yourself so lacking in dignity that the worthy 
men about you are constrained to retire from official life, 
and the brave hesitate to serve you, then assuredly your 
ancestors will regard you as unworthy of their aid, and 
destruction, inevitable and final, will come upon you." 

Just at this critical juncture the Court received word 

169 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

that the people of Honan and Shantung had risen against 
the officials placed over them by Li Tzu-ch'eng, and were 
sending deputies to beg the Mings to restore their authority. 
Once more Shih pleaded with the Emperor : " Send now 
a message of sympathy to your subjects," he said, " that 
they may know that there is still a ruler in China. The 
people will then turn to you, and in time you will recover 
the lost North." The Emperor was pleased to follow this 
advice, and as a result General Yi, at the head of the Shensi 
troops, marched into Honan and recovered K'ai Feng-fu 
and Kuei Te-fu for the Mings. But the cabal against 
Shih, fearing to see him attain to power through such 
successes, were able, by their evil intrigues, to cut off his 
supplies. His supporters at Nanking were actively per- 
secuted by Ma Shih-ying's party, and many were beheaded 
or banished, while the General's memorials were sup- 
pressed. Meanwhile, the Manchus were pressing down 
through Shantung, under the command of Prince Yii, 
a younger brother of the Regent and uncle of the boy 
Emperor Shun-chih. 

Anxiously Shih K'o-fa waited, on the banks of the Huai, 
for the provisions and munitions of war which never came. 
At last, in despair, he sent a final memorial : " Since the 
catastrophe of last spring (1664) your ancestors' graves 
have been left unteAded, and chaos reigns throughout your 
Empire. Not a blow has Your Majesty struck in its 
defence. You forget that Nanking is but a temporary 
capital, and that it should be regarded only as a base 
from which to direct far-reaching operations against the 
Manchus. It is absurd to suppose that unless you take 
the offensive you will be suffered to remain there in peace. 
When you came to the Throne your troops were filled 
with martial spirit, but to-day all is changed. The army 
is starved, while your Court revels in luxury. Of a surety 
doom awaits you. My spies report that the flower of the 
Manchu army is advancing and that their fleets are 

170 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

speeding down the Grand Canal. All North of the Yellow 
River has been irrevocably lost, and here I sit by the Huai, 
disabled for want of provisions. Is our avenging army 
not to move a step ? Will you leave the chastisement of 
the rebels to the Manchus? The Manchu Prince has 
dared to insult you, branding you with the name of 
usurper. He has treated your envoys with contumely. 
Between these invaders and us there can be no peace; 
we must meet them on the field of battle. I doubt 
whether we should be certain of victory even if we were to 
sink our ships in the stream and destroy our camps, deter- 
mined to crush the foe or die in the attempt. How much 
more, then, is our case hopeless when those who should 
lead us stand idly by ? A Sovereign must show resolution 
if the army is to show spirit. Let the Sovereign be lacking 
in decision and the army must needs be lacking in 
courage. Let not the flatterers who surround Your Majesty 
delude you further with fair words. It behoves you to 
issue orders that the troops shall be properly equipped 
for a long campaign, and that for bravery high rewards 
will be bestowed. Is this a time for lavishing honours 
on unworthy favourites, who should count themselves 
lucky that they have escaped execution? Fawning 
eunuchs intrigue to secure high office for themselves and 
for their proteges, while good men and true are forced out 
into obscurity. 

" How can we march without food ? You cannot stimu- 
late men to brave deeds by words alone. Let the money 
in your treasury be now devoted to your army, and let 
your Palace festivities cease. Refuse all gifts of tribute 
and exercise thrift, even in your sacrificial rites. Until 
you have regained your capital, dalliance in the seraglio 
and at the banquet will bring no contentment to your 
jaded appetite. Our Manchu foes are watching your 
every action ; if you amend not your ways the allegiance 
of your subjects will surely be forfeited. You should 

171 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

rise early and not till late seek rest, mindful ever of your 
forbears' achievements, and eager to avenge your pre- 
decessor's death. Only summon good men around you, 
and Heaven, relenting, may yet aid your cause. I, as 
a soldier, have no right to meddle in Court affairs, but 
where the Court is not pure, the army will surely fail in 
its duty." 

This protest proved as unavailing as the rest ; Ma Shih- 
ying's party was too busy persecuting and slaying its 
opponents to give heed to the dangers of the military 
situation. Feasts and theatricals were still the order of 
the day at Court; the Emperor abandoned himself to 
drinking and profligacy. The Manchu armies advanced 
in four divisions, and in April 1645 only the Yellow River 
separated their advance guard from Shih K'o-fa's out- 
posts. His ablest lieutenant. General Yi, was treacherously 
murdered by a brother officer who deserted to the enemy ; 
on all sides the Manchus were harrying the country. 
When at last the Throne gave Shih a free hand, it was too 
late. Then, as a rising broke out in Nanking itself, Shih 
was hurriedly summoned to come back to the rescue. 
He obeyed, leaving the road open to the Manchus to enter 
Kiangsu and Anhui. 

So swiftly moved the Manchu cavalry that Shih had 
only just time to return from Nanking and Sochow and 
prepare Yang Chou-fu (the key to Nanking) against a 
siege. No sooner were his dispositions complete than 
Prince Yii's forces appeared upon the scene. A herald 
from the Prince came to demand his surrender. Shih 
cursed the messenger from the city wall. The envoy 
replied : " The fame of Your Excellency's loyal and 
eminent services is spread throughout China, yet the Ming 
Emperor does not give you his confidence. Why, then, 
not gain a name and a reward by joining the Manchus ? " 
Shih angrily drew a bow upon him, but the shot missed 
its aim. Prince Yii was most sincerely anxious that so 

172 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

brave a man should not die in so bad a cause; he there- 
fore delayed the bombardment of the city and made 
repeated efforts to get him to parley. All his efforts having 
proved futile, he ordered the assault. 

Shih, foreseeing the inevitable end, gave orders that his 
body should be buried near to the mausoleum of the founder 
of the dynasty at Nanking. For eight days he maintained 
a splendid defence, doing great execution amongst the 
Manchus with his superior artillery of Jesuit manufacture. 
Finally the Manchus effected a breach in the north-west 
wall of the city and all was over. Shih called one of his 
officers and said : " The city is lost. Take, I pray you, 
your sword and kill me." This officer (named Chuang) 
obeyed, but his heart failed him, and the blow miscarried, 
so Shih seized the weapon and wounded himself with it 
in the throat. Here some of his men forcibly intervened, 
and, putting him on a horse, tried to escape with him by 
the South Gate of the city. On reaching it they met a 
party of Manchus. Shih K'o-fa shouted : "I am the 
Grand Secretary Shih. Lead me to your Commander- 
in-chief." He was brought before Prince Yii, who said : 
" You have made a gallant defence. Before the siege 
I sent several letters to Your Excellency and you refused 
to negotiate. Now that you have done all that duty 
could dictate I would be glad to give you a high post. 
You shall be our Imperial Commissioner for the pacifica- 
tion of Nanking Province." Shih replied : "I ask of you 
no favour except death." The Prince persevered : " Do 
not you see," he said, " your former colleague, the Grand 
Secretary Hung Ch'eng-chou? He made his peace with 
us and now stands high in our councils." Shih answered 
with a smile : " Howsoever well you may treat Hung 
Ch'eng-chou, your kindness cannot outweigh the favours 
which he received from his late Emperor and mine. In 
failing to die with his master and in serving a new one 
he has proved himself disloyal. Such a man will never 

173 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

be loyal to any cause he serves. How can you expect me 
to imitate his behaviour ? Sooner or later he will betray 
you." 

Sadly the Prince bade them lead him away, to hold in 
custody. Repeated efforts were made to induce him to 
give in, but as he firmly refused, Prince Yii ordered his 
decapitation on the third day. He was hurriedly coffined 
by General Yi, but to this day no one knows the place of 
his burial. The story was current for many years amongst 
the dwindling remnants of the Mings that Shih was not 
beheaded, and that another was put to death in his place. 
Many years afterwards it was rumoured that he had 
taken the field against the Manchus in Anhui, but there 
was no truth in this. 

Thus, faithful to the traditions of his caste, died a great 
soldier and an honest man. How strong were the tempta- 
tions held out to him to betray his unworthy Sovereign, 
how many the arguments, which must even have appealed 
to him, against continuance of the struggle, may be 
gathered from the correspondence which took place 
between the Manchu Regent and General Shih in the 
autumn of the previous year, four months after the fall 
of Peking. 

The Regent's first letter was as follows : " Long ago, 
at Moukden, I had heard of your high reputation in Peking 
as a scholar,^ and since our victories over the rebels I 
have taken occasion to find out all about you in the 
literary circles of the metropolis. Some little time ago I 
sent you a letter of kindly inquiry and sympathy by the 
hand of your brother, but I know not if you received it. 
Reports have now reached us that the Ming dynasty has 
re-established itself at Nanking, and that a new Emperor 
has been chosen. Now, we are taught that a man may 
not live under the same sky with the murderer of his father 
or Sovereign. Furthermore, the " Spring and Autumn 
1 Shih was a native of Peking. 
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THE COURT OF PEKING 

Annals " state that a Sovereign's obsequies may not be 
recorded so long as his murderer remains unpunished, 
neither can the new ruler's accession be considered to have 
taken place. The principle involved is vital, since its 
object is to minimise the frequency of rebellions. 

" That traitor, Li Tzu-ch'eng, the ' Prince Harrier,' 
captured Peking and caused the death of your Emperor 
and of his kinsmen, whilst scarcely one of his Chinese 
subjects ventured to draw bow in his defence. One man 
alone, Wu San-kuei, on your eastern boundary, came in 
loyal indignation to entreat our succour. In recognition 
of long- subsisting friendship between our States, and 
regardless of outstanding differences, we arrayed a host 
of gallant warriors, and the rebel horde of dogs and rats 
was swept before us in a panic-stricken rout. 

" After capturing Peking we proceeded forthwith to 
canonise your late Sovereigns, and arranged for their 
burial in due accordance with the rites of ceremonial 
observance. We left to your surviving Princes and high 
officials their original ranks, treating them all with the 
utmost commiseration and generosity. Our troops were 
not allowed to loot ; the markets remained open as usual, 
and the husbandman continued to till his fields in peace. 

" We had planned, now that the cool weather of autumn 
has come upon us, to send a punitive expedition, composed 
of levies from all parts, to pursue Li Tzii-ch'eng into his 
western retreat, and to pay off your accumulated grudges 
against him — thus displaying our dynasty's magnanimity. 
Who could have dreamed that you, worthy gentleman, 
should be so short-sighted as to seek the temporary con- 
tinuance of your dynasty in Nanking ? I greatly deplore 
that you should be thus blind to visible dangers, and permit 
yourself to cherish vain and deceptive illusions. 

"When our dynasty captured Peking it was not the 
Ming dynasty which was defeated by our armies, but the 
rebel Prince Li Tzu-ch'eng, who had violated your ances- 

175 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

tral temple and desecrated your Emperor's remiains. To 
avenge your disgrace we spared no expense, and even 
imposed heavy taxes on our own subjects. Surely it 
behoves all good men and true to be grateful and repay 
this our benevolence ! Nevertheless, you have taken 
advantage of the respite which we have granted to our 
war- weary hosts, before continuing the pursuit of the rebels, 
to establish your forces at Nanking. No doubt you hope 
to follow the example of the fisherman in the fable, who, 
seeing the oyster- catcher with the oyster fastened on its 
beak, rushed forward, hoping to seize both bird and oyster. 
Can such conduct be deemed reasonable or just? Per- 
chance, forsooth, you fondly imagine that the Yangtsze 
is a natural barrier which will prove insuperable to our 
forces ; you hope that we shall not succeed in ' stemming 
its current, even though we block it with our whips.' ^ 
The rebel ' Prince Harrier ' had given no offence to our 
dynasty ; it was the Ming dynasty which he had scourged 
and overthrown. When we smote him it was because of 
our sense of humanity and our natural longing to avenge 
a universal wrong. 

" But if to-day a rival Emperor enthrones himself at 
Nanking, there will be two suns in the firmament. This 
must not be. Do you not see, moreover, that you are 
playing into ' Prince Harrier's ' hands ? Is it not clear 
that we shall have to recall our levies from their expedition 
against him and dispatch them instead against yourselves ? 
In this way he will escape his well-deserved chastisement, 
while you will become the victims of our wrath. 

" It needs no diviner's skill in augury to foretell that the 
destruction of your poor remnant by the hands of our 
victorious armies is sure and inevitable, seeing that, whilst 
still masters of China, you were forced to bow the knee 
before a rebel horde. You should face the situation and 

1 A classical reference to Fu Chien, who in the fourth century a.d. 
uttered a bombastic boast to this effect. 

176 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

yield to the fortune of war. Your best way of showing 
loyalty to your late master and devotion to the Prince 
his successor is to advise the latter to renounce his 
Imperial title, and, as Prince of the Ming blood royal, 
continue to enjoy our perpetual favour. Our dynasty 
proposes to assign to him suitable revenues and residence, 
and will treat him as an honoured descendant of the dis- 
possessed dynasty. I undertake that the highest honours 
shall be lavished upon him bj^^ our Imperial bounty, that 
precedence shall be accorded to him over all Princes at 
our Court, and that his posterity shall be accorded similar 
hereditary privileges until the Yellow River shrinks to 
the width of a girdle and Mount T'ai to the size of a 
whetstone. Our dynasty desires to be faithful to the 
motive which inspired us in subduing the rebels, and to act 
in harmony with the spirit which saves the fallen from 
destruction and renews a lineage extinct. 

" As for yourself and other distinguished worthies of the 
South, if you will repair to our Court and do obeisance 
before the Manchu Throne you will be rewarded with 
the highest hereditary ranks and rich fiefs. Is not our 
treatment of Wu San-kuei an earnest of our good inten- 
tions towards you ? 

"Only let Your Excellency consider wherein lies the way 
of advantage. Now-a-days, many scholars and statesmen 
are apt to forget their duty to the people in their desire 
to win for themselves fame as men of unwavering prin- 
ciples. Wlien a catastrophe occurs they are paralysed, 
and resemble the man who sought to build a house by 
asking the casual advice of unknown passers-by. Re- 
member the example of the Sung dynasty, whose rulers 
were busy arguing academic points even when the Mongol 
invaders had crossed the Yangtsze and were knocking 
at the gates of their capital. You, Sir, are the wisest of 
your contemporaries and must know full well in what 
direction the dictates of prudence should lead you. 
N 177 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Rather than allow yourself to be carried away by the 
current, or influenced by those who trim their sails to the 
passing breeze, surely you will determine on a consistent 
and statesmanlike course, and then stick to it without 
swerving a hair's breadth. 

" Our troops are ready to march against you if needs 
must be; everything now depends on your decision. I 
hope that you will share my desire to complete the 
destruction of Li Tzii-ch'eng, and that you will not cling 
stubbornly to the fleeting emoluments which you now 
enjoy, so as to involve your old dynasty in irretrievable 
disaster. I beseech you to avoid becoming the laughing- 
stock of rebels and traitors. This is my earnest prayer. 
In the Book of Rites it is written : ' Only the superior 
man can fully appreciate good advice.' Therefore I lay 
bare my inmost heart and respectfully await your decision. 
Across the Yangtsze's flood I turn in spirit to Your 
Excellency and entreat your early reply. There is still 
much which remains unsaid." 

To this dignified appeal Shih K'o-fa replied, in words no 
less eloquent, as follows : " Shih K'o-fa, Commander-in- 
chief of the great Ming dynasty, President of the Board 
of War and a Grand Secretary of the Eastern Throne-hall, 
prostrating himself respectfully before Your Highness, the 
Regent of the great Manchu dynasty, has the honour to 
reply as follows : On receipt of your valued favour, I sent 
it at once to General Wu in order that I might take his 
opinion. I hesitated to indite an immediate reply, not 
because I failed to appreciate your kindness in writing 
to me, but out of regard for the principle enunciated in 
the ' Spring and Autumn ' classic, that a Minister of one 
State ought not to carry on secret correspondence with 
the representative of another. 

" At a time of urgent military preparation like the present, 
your elegantly worded composition is indeed a godsend, 
and I have perused it again and again, full of admiration 

178 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

for the sentiments which it conveys. It fills me with 
gratitude and at the same time with shame that your 
great nation should have occasion to deplore the delays 
which have occurred in destroying that parricide and rebel, 
Li Tzii-ch'eng. But I desire to make a few remarks 
regarding your lightly-uttered statement that we, officials 
and people of the great Ming dynasty, are forgetful of 
the outrages inflicted on the late Emperor, and have sinned 
against his memory in proclaiming His present Majesty at 
our ' temporary retreat,' south of the Yangtsze. 

*' His departed Majesty was a wise and just ruler who 
obeyed Heaven and followed the behests of his ancestors, 
in constant affection for his subjects and in the faithful 
performance of his duty. The disaster of the 19th day 
of the 3rd Moon, when Peking fell, was due to the infatuate 
errors of his Ministers, and I was too far away at my post 
in the south to bring up reinforcements to his succour. 
The sorrowful tidings of his death reached me at my camp 
on the Huai, whilst I was hurrying north. Heaven was 
rent and the earth shaken by this monstrous catastrophe ; 
the waves of the sea wept in unison, and the trees withered 
on the hills. Breathes there the man who does not love 
his Sovereign ? Though my body were hacked to pieces 
in the market place, still, because of this disaster, my soul 
must bear its heavy burden of guilt, and never can I dare 
to look His late Majesty in the face in the realms below. 

'* The grief of his officials and people in the South was like 
that of orphans mourning for their parents, and we burned 
to avenge our Emperor by drawing sword against the 
traitor who had caused his death. But it seemed good 
to our eldest and wisest statesman to place a new Emperor 
on the Throne, not only for the sake of the ancestral 
shrines and the tutelary deities, but to satisfy the desire 
of the nation. His present Majesty is the grandson of 
Wan Li, the nephew of that Monarch's successor, and cousin 
to His late Majesty. He is of the direct line, his accession 

179 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

is meet and proper, and he has found favour with Heaven 
and with his people. When he entered Nanking, on the 
1st of the 5th Moon, his subjects hned the roads and 
welcomed the Imperial chariot with thunderous acclaim. 
His Ministers besought him to mount the Imperial Throne, 
but he hesitated at first to comply, and assumed the title 
of Regent. It was only in response to repeated petitions 
from his subjects that at last he declared himself Emperor. 
On that eventful day nature wore a garb of joy, and 
prestiges were not wanting of an auspicious reign. As the 
smoke of the incense ascended to Heaven at the ancestral 
sacrifice the worshippers felt that the Almighty had 
vouchsafed His approval. 

" A few days after His Majesty's accession he bade me 
take up my command North of the Yangtsze and prepare 
to march against Li Tzii-ch'eng. It was then that the 
tidings reached us that our Generalissimo, Wu San-kuei, 
had borrowed aid from your great nation, and that the 
rebel host had been completely routed. We learned that 
you had given fitting burial to the remains of Their 
Majesties, and that you had purged the Palace of the 
polluting presence of the usurper. By pacifying the 
people's alarms and by cancelling the edict which had 
enjoined the shaving of the head ^ you showed a respect 
for our dynastic usages, and your generosity will be en- 
shrined for all time in our history. Not a subject of the 
great Ming dynasty but kneels in gratitude, rendering 
willing obeisance from a full heart for this kind deed. 
Surely your letter errs grievously when you remind us of 
our duty ' to cherish gratitude, and thus to repay your 
benevolence.' 

" So little do we need this reminder that on the 8th Moon 

of this year I dispatched an envoy bearing a number of 

trifling gifts to be distributed as largesse to your victorious 

forces, and I directed him to submit to you proposals for 

^ This cancellation was only tempora^3^ 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

a joint expedition westward against the rebels. I waited 
with my troops on the banks of the River Huai, solely 
because I wished to learn your intentions in the 
matter. 

" The letter which I have had the honour to receive 
takes me to task for violating the principles laid down by 
Confucius concerning succession to the Throne. I admire 
the aptness of your allusion, but Confucius was only 
referring to the deaths of feudal Princes who had perished 
by assassination. In such cases it was deemed unseemly 
for the son and successor to announce his accession, either 
to his suzerain or to his fellow Princes, until his father's 
murder had been avenged. But the Sage never meant 
this to apply to a case in which the Sovereign Lord of the 
whole Empire had committed suicide for the sake of the 
altars of his gods, his family having already come to a 
cruel end. In such a case, slavish adherence to the letter 
of the principle in question would show callous indifference 
to the interests of the Empire as a whole, and would 
assuredly plunge our ancient State in the horrors of anarchy 
and civil war. For a supreme ruler is needed to inspire 
the nation with courage and patriotism; without one 
no national spirit could exist, nor could the army be 
rallied to fresh efforts. Historical instances of the truth 
of this will readily occur to Your Highness ; I need scarcely 
quote them here. When the Sung Emperor Ch'en Tsung 
(a.d. 1126) was carried into captivity by the Chen Tartars, 
together with his father, the ex-Emperor, his brother was 
at once elected to the Throne, because it was felt that it 
could not safely stand empty for a single day. History 
has approved of this principle, and has recognised 
that in no other way can the fortunes of the State be 
preserved. 

" The sixteen Emperors of our Ming dynasty have, 
each in his turn, exercised a civilising influence, and have 
enabled the remotest nations to benefit by their self- 

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ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

sacrificing magnanimity. They have restored princedoms 
and treated their vassals with unfaiUng generosity. You 
Manchus, who have for generations figured on the roll of 
our feudatories, can scarcely fail to be aware of these facts, 
since you, too, have been nurtured by our Throne's wide- 
embracing and enfolding protection. The fact that our 
two nations had been at enmity for a generation was 
brought about by wicked plotters, whom His late Majesty 
visited with condign punishment. 

" You may well be proud of your action in hastening so 
loyally to suppress the rebel invasion, and in coming to the 
rescue of our dynasty. It has been worthy of the prin- 
ciples of Confucius, and deserves to be remembered for all 
time. 

" In olden days, when the Ketans made peace with the 
Sungs, annual gifts of gold and silks were sent by the 
latter, but that did not mean that the Ketans acquired 
any territorial advantages from the Sungs. How much 
more, then, should this be the case with your great nation, 
which has loudly proclaimed its altruistic intentions, and 
which has moved with troops to our succour simply and 
solely (for so you have assured us) out of regard for the 
friendly feeling existing between our States from time 
immemorial. 

'* If now, taking advantage of our misfortunes, you covet 
our territory and hope to benefit yourselves by annexing 
portions of our dominions, you will be open to the reproach 
that your good intentions were but transient, and that 
your actions, which began in good feeling, have ended in 
unrighteous cupidity. Then may the rebels even despise 
you, as being no better than themselves ! I am reluctant 
to believe this of you Manchus. 

'' His late Majesty was far too tender-hearted in dealing 
with the rebellion; he could not bear to employ drastic 
methods in suppressing it. It is because of his adoption 
of this lenient policy that the Mings have been brought 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

to their present evil pass. The present Emperor's one 
thought is to avenge the wrongs of his predecessor, and all 
our statesmen are of the same mind, while thousands of 
volunteers have rallied to the flag, burning to wipe out 
this national disgrace. 

" It is my confident hope that ' Prince Harrier's ' tether 
is a short one. The proverb says : ' Let your good 
actions breed successors, but pull up evil by the root.' 
At this moment, however, the traitor has escaped to his 
Shensi lair and still awaits Heaven-sent retribution. Nay, 
my spies tell me that he still hopes to regain the territory 
he has lost, and is even now preparing to strike a fresh blow. 
This is not only a disgrace to our dynasty, but is scarcely 
calculated to give your nation satisfaction, since your 
efforts have only met with partial success. 

" I beg, therefore, that you will now complete what you 
have so well begun, and arrange with us plans for a joint 
punitive campaign into Shensi, where we may have the 
joy of seeing the traitor's head roll in the dust. In this 
way you Manchus will have set the crowning achieve- 
ment on your glorious work, and we shall do what in us 
lies to reward you. Hereafter, our two nations shall 
dwell together as neighbours, in perpetual amity. How 
splendid to think that peace can never again be broken 
between Chinese and Manchu ! 

" Our dynasty's ambassador is now on his way, and should 
soon reach Peking, where the terms of a treaty may be 
negotiated at leisure. Looking northward towards the 
mausolea of our mighty ancestors my eyes can weep no 
more, for lack of tears, and I feel that I deserve to die the 
death. My only reason for not following my late master 
to the other world was that I still hoped to render some 
service to the State. It is written : ' Strain every energy 
for your country whilst life lasts; be loyal and fear not.' 
My one desire is to be privileged to lose my life in the 
performance of my duty. May this aspiration be fulfilled. 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

I would beg Your Highness to be pleased to peruse the 
above. Hung Kuang,^ 9th Moon, 15th day. 

" Postscriptum. — If I do not hear from you, I intend to 
cross the Huai with my whole force and expel the rebel 
horde of dogs and rats from their lairs, that the glories 
of old may be restored to our Empire, and that the benefits 
bestowed upon me by His late Majesty, now in Heaven, 
may in some measure be requited. Finally, I would 
observe that it is unseemly for the Minister of one State 
to have private intercourse with the ruler of another, and 
I treat with the contempt of silence your ignoble endeavour 
to lure me with promises of rewards and dignities." 

This correspondence between the Manchu Regent and 
the loyalist General is cited to this day by Chinese scholars 
as a model of the best classical traditions ; even for those 
who read it in another language it carries conviction and 
an irresistible appeal, telling its own story of the dignity 
and wisdom which underlie the weather-beaten but un- 
conquered philosophy of China's Sages. 

But for the humanitarian, admiration of this stoic 
philosophy halts before its consequences, as we see them 
reflected in the unspeakable misery of the masses. The 
Regent's shrewd indictment of Shih K'o-fa's attitude was 
justified by every humane instinct, when he said that 
" scholars and statesmen were apt to forget their duty 
to the people in their desire to win for themselves fame 
as men of unswerving principles." Both he and Shih 
K'o-fa were sincerely anxious for peace, anxious to avert 
from the innocent community of toilers the awful calam- 
ities of war; but neither was prepared to buy immunity 
for the people by the surrender of his own rigid principles. 
Let us turn now from the arguments of the leaders to 
contemplate the consequences of their differences as 
reflected in the lives and deaths of the " stupid people." 

1 The Ming dynastic title of the new Emperor, " Distinguished 
Glory." 

184 



CHAPTER VII 
THE SACK OF YANG CHOU-FU 

The history of China, ancient and modern, is a series 
of paroxysms; its keynote is bloodshed and famine, 
periods of peace and prosperity purchased by the slaughter 
of countless innocents. Its splendid civilisation, based 
on an unassailable moral philosophy and the canons of 
the Sages, has ever proved powerless against the inexorable 
laws of nature, against the pitiless cruelty of the struggle 
for life, intensified by a social system which inculcates 
procreative recklessness and passive fatalism. Under 
Mongols, Mings and Manchus the stern retributive law 
and its fulfilment have ever been the same, history always 
repeating itself, at the passing of dynasties, with fearful 
monotony of wholesale massacres. 

The following narrative of the sack of Yang Chou-fu 
by the Manchus in 1645 was written by one (his name is 
unknown) who was himself a victim and an eye-witness 
of those fearful days of slaughter, and of events which may 
be taken as normal at times of conquest and civil strife 
in Far Eastern lands. The blood lust of the victorious 
Manchus was no more fierce than that of the Mongols 
before them, or, for that matter, of the Chinese of to-day. 
Throughout all the recorded history of the Empire, these 
ruthless massacres of non-combatants have been an 
accepted feature of the sorry scheme of things ; a deliber- 
ate, cold-blooded, almost instinctive fulfilment of the 
law which prescribes the survival of the fittest, amongst 
a people with whom the problem of daily bread is ever 
insistently insoluble. Compared with the most merciless 

185 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

butcheries of ancient and modern times in Europe, with 
the worst excesses of " Kirke's lambs " or Alva's butchers, 
the slaughter of Orientals by Orientals lacks the factors 
of religious and political hatred which often explain 
the extermination of whole communities. Yet another 
feature, common to these pitiful records of Chinese cities 
left desolate, is the complete lack of resistance on the part 
of their inhabitants — a few thousands of savage soldiery 
let loose, without discipline or military cohesion, upon a 
walled city of a million inhabitants, will convert it almost 
methodically into a shambles, their terror-stricken victims 
awaiting death with abject helplessness. 

Yang Chou-fu, on the Grand Canal in Kiangsu, has 
always been an important city. Strategically, before the 
days of railways, it was the gate of the southern capital, 
Nanking, for invaders from the north. ^ Its ancient walls 
are some four miles in circumference, and in olden days, 
when the Grand Canal was the great artery of trade 
between the Yangtsze and North China, it boasted great 
wealth and a large population. Before the Manchu 
invasion, it had suffered, as all Central China had suffered, 
from the disorders of Li Tzu-ch'eng's rebellion and the 
general unrest brought about by the chaotic condition 
of affairs in Pekipg; but until 1644 the tide of civil war 
had flowed northwards, and though the cities of the plain 
had paid for it in silver, there had been but little bloodshed 
in their streets. After the fall of Peking and the collapse 
of the Mings before the rebel forces of Li Tzu-ch'eng, 
came the swift turning of the tide; Li's great army, 
routed by Wu San-kuei and the Manchus, fled southwards 
and west, while the fugitive Mings established their Court 
at Nanking, and gathered together their shattered forces 
to prevent the Manchus crossing the Yangtsze. 

In 1644, when the Manchu armies began their invasion 

1 In 1282 Kublai Khan conferred upon Marco Polo the governorship 
of the city. 

186 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

and subjugation of the South, the population of Yang 
Chou-fu was estimated at over a milHon. Lying on the 
direct route of the invaders to Nanking, it was held for 
the Mings by their ablest General, Shih K'o-fa, and gar- 
risoned with an army of about 40,000 men. If Prince 
Fu, heir to the throne of the Mings, had not been hopelessly 
dissolute and incapable, if he and his advisers at the Court 
of Nanking had given General Shih the loyal support he 
deserved, the Manchus would probably never have reached 
the Yangtsze. But (as we have shown elsewhere) the 
Court was wholly engrossed in licentious pleasures, its 
scanty revenues wasted in wine-bibbing and play acting, 
its forces in the field unprovided with the necessaries 
of life and materials of war. Shih K'o-fa had been obliged 
to detach part of the garrison of Yang Chou-fu at a most 
critical moment to protect a store of ammunition and 
equipment, which he had been compelled to leave behind 
him on his forced march from Soochow. Even so, he 
might have destroyed the army of the invaders before 
the investment of the city, had he been willing to cut the 
banks of the Huai River and flood the country. But Shih 
was a scholar and a humane man, and preferred the risks 
of war to the infliction of enduring misery on vast numbers 
of his fellow countrymen. He might have saved himself, 
his army and the city had he been willing to entertain 
the advances made to him by the Manchu Regent and 
forsake the cause of the Mings. But hoping against hope 
for reinforcements and final victory he remained at his 
post, and met with a dignified refusal the Regent's offers 
to confer wealth and honour upon him as the price of 
disloyalty. He took a terrible responsibility, and he paid 
the price of high failure, and with him more than half 
a million men, women and children, " went to their graves 
like beds." 

The diary from which the following narrative is taken 
is dated the 4th Moon of the " Yi Yu " year (1645) : 

187 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

" On the 14th day of the Yi Yu year it was reported 
to General Shih K'o-fa, the Commander-in-chief, by 
his staff, that Yang Ho (on the Huai River) had fallen, and 
our garrison prepared for a siege. Soldiers were quartered 
in every house ; a certain Colonel Yang and his men were 
billeted on me. Their discipline was very bad; we had 
to supply them with everything, and their keep cost us 
several strings of cash per day. As their demands became 
ever more importunate, I invited Colonel Yang to a 
banquet, and seized the opportunity to beg him to keep 
his men in better order. After this we were somewhat 
less disturbed. The Colonel enjoyed listening to the flute, 
and we called in some singing-girls to entertain his men. 

" There was fierce fighting on the walls and around the 
city for ten days and nights,^ and we all hoped that the 
garrison would repel the enemy. But one evening, while 
we were having quite a lively party at our house, orders 
from the Commander-in-chief were suddenly brought to 
Colonel Yang. He read the note, turned deathly pale 
and hurried out on to the city wall. Our party broke up, 
every one wondering what evil tidings were in store for us. 
Next morning all the walls of the city were placarded with 
a proclamation from General Shih K'o-fa, saying : ' I 
alone will bear the brunt; none of you blameless people 
shall pay the penalty.' 

" I felt quite reassured and touched by these good words. 
Later in the day every one's spirits rose, for news came 
in that our men had been victorious in a heavy skirmish 
outside the city. That afternoon my married cousin 
came in from Kua-chou in order to escape from the law- 
lessness of General Li's dispersed troops. My wife was 
delighted to see her, and the two women were chatting 
away, when suddenly rumours began to circulate that the 
Manchus were in the city. I made immediate inquiries, 
and at first came to the conclusion that the troops who had 
^ Other chronicles say that the siege lasted seven days. 

188 



i 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

come in were those of the Marqms Huang Te-kung, our 
own General, the more so as our guards on the city wall 
showed no signs of panic. On reaching the main street, 
however, I met crowds of men, women and children, 
many of them barefooted and half naked, all rushing 
wildly along. To my inquiries they could make no clear 
replies, all muttering and gibbering incoherently. Next 
I observed a small party of horsemen desperately galloping 
towards the South Gate of the city. They passed like a 
torrent in flood, but I had time to notice that the person 
they were escorting was none other than General Shih 
K'o-fa himself. They had tried to leave by the East 
Gate, but finding that the Manchus held it already outside, 
were hoping to escape by the South. The General was 
wounded,^ and had been forced to leave by his bodyguard. 
" Next I saw another of the Ming Generals riding 
northwards, evidently intending to surrender to the enemy. 
His face wore a look of misery such as I never wish to 
behold again. By this time the troops on the wall 
had begun to throw away their weapons and were tearing 
off the badges from their uniforms. Many of them were 
severely hurt in the crush and confusion as they rushed 
from the wall; soon the section adjoining my house was 
quite deserted. General Shih had erected gun-platforms 
on a level with the wall, because it was too narrow for 
artillery purposes; these platforms were reached from 
the roofs below by a sloping gangway of planks lashed 
together. The Manchus gained the wall near the North 
Gate, and came rushing along it, sword in hand, driving 
our men before them. On reaching the gun- platform 
adjoining my house, crowds of them, pursuers and pursued, 
came down it helter-skelter; the gangway collapsed 
beneath them, and a score or more were killed. Those who 
succeeded in reaching the roofs engaged in fierce hand- 
to-hand fighting, making a din most terrifying to the 

^ Vide supra, p. 173. 
189 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

occupants of the house, cowering in the rooms beneath. 
My courtyard was filled with routed soldiery and panic- 
stricken refugees, who listened in terror to the fierce yells 
of the Manchus. I had no means of preventing these 
fugitives from entering my premises; even the women's 
quarters were full of them. From a window at the back 
of my house I observed a body of troops marching towards 
the south-west of the city. They seemed well disciplined, 
and at first I hoped they were some of our own men. 
At this moment there came a sound of knocking at my 
gate. A few neighbours had come to suggest that we 
should join them in preparing a welcome to the Manchu 
invaders, and that we should burn incense in token of 
allegiance to our new Emperor. As matters stood I 
dared not refuse to join in these preparations, so hurriedly 
we put on our ceremonial robes and shaved our heads in 
the Manchu fashion. This done, we waited a long while, 
but no Manchu Prince put in an appearance. The fight 
in my courtyard was now over, and about a dozen soldiers 
lay dead upon the ground. The Manchus had passed on 
to other parts of the city. 

" As I looked out from my window I saw a few soldiers 
coming and going; in a little while there came a troop 
of them escorting a bevy of gaudily clad women — ^women 
belonging to this city, of evil repute. At the spectacle 
a sudden thought struck me, and I went to my women-folk 
and said : ' The city has fallen ; you must be ready 
to commit suicide and thus escape outrage.' All the 
women agreed, and handed me their ornaments and their 
money, saying : ' Keep them ; we don't expect to live 
more than a few hours at most.' 

" Next I saw a small party of horsemen riding slowly 
from the North; every person whom they met they 
stopped, demanding money. These men were not extrava- 
gant in their demands, and if they were refused they would 
prod their captive with swords, but not so as to hurt him 

190 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

seriously. (I heard afterwards that a Yang-chou man had 
treacherously conducted this party to the house of a 
rich merchant, who had paid ten thousand taels as ransom, 
but had nevertheless been murdered.) 

" When they came near to my house one of the horsemen 
pointed to me (I had come out and was standing in the 
court) ; ' Search that fellow in the blue gown,' he 
shouted to one of his comrades, who at once dismounted ; 
but I was too quick for him and rushed inside. The men 
rode away laughing. I wondered why they should wish 
to search me, as I was clad in the garments of a rustic. 
At this moment my two brothers came up and, discussing 
the point, we concluded that, as this part of the city was 
chiefly inhabited by wealthy merchants, they had suspected 
my disguise. I therefore decided to remove all the family 
from my house and take refuge in that of my second eldest 
brother. My two brothers and the women all made their 
way thither by unfrequented alleys. Just at the back of 
my brother's house were some of the slums of the city, 
a quarter known as the ' Graveyard of the Ho family.' 
Meantime, I remained behind in my own house to see what 
would happen. All of a sudden my eldest brother came 
running back to tell me that the main street was running 
with blood, and that if I stayed where I was I should 
surely be murdered. ' Come with us ; we can at least 
all die together in our brother's house.' At that, I took 
the ancestral tablets from their shrine and went with my 
brother. We were all together in his house, a party of ten ; 
four of us brothers (two older and one younger than myself), 
my wife and little son, my sister-in-law, my nephew and 
my wife's brother and sister. 

" As evening drew on we could hear more and more 
clearly the shouts of the Manchus at their hellish work of 
butchery. It was pouring with rain, but that did not stop 
them. Hoping to escape detection we all lay out on 
the flat roof of an outhouse imder the heavy rain, covered 

191 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

with a large felt plaid, which soon became soaked. The 
death- cries of wounded and dying men, of women and 
children, rang in our ears and made our blood run cold. 
Not till midnight did we dare to come from our hiding- 
place and make for the kitchen, where we managed to kindle 
a fire and boil a little rice. By this time flames were 
bursting out all over the city ; several of our neighbours' 
houses had been burnt to the ground; the total number 
thus destroyed must have run into thousands. The night 
was as light as day; the tumult and the shouting were 
incessant. Every now and then we could hear curses 
in Manchu, blended with some woman's frantic appeal 
for mercy. We tried to eat, but our chopsticks refused 
to carry the food to our mouths. We could think of no 
way of escape; my wife took some ingots of silver and 
divided them amongst us four brothers. We hid them in 
our top-knots, in our boots and loin-cloths. My wife also 
found for me an old robe and a pair of frayed shoes, 
which she bade me wear. 

" All night we sat desperate, awaiting the end, and dared 
not close our eyes. A bird in the room sang without 
ceasing; its notes sounded like a clarion. Close at hand 
I heard a child sobbing, but could not locate it. As dawn 
broke, the conflagrations seemed to die down. I mounted 
a ladder and concealed myself in the loft. We all crouched 
on some boards by the ceiling, when suddenly, from the 
eastern side, a man's head appeared. He climbed in 
by one ladder and rushed down another, but the Manchu 
trooper who followed him, paused when he saw us and gave 
over his pursuit, coming towards me instead. In my 
terror I too rushed down the ladder and out into the street, 
followed by my two brothers. We ran at least a hundred 
yards, but stopped on finding we were not being pursued. 
For the time being I lost sight of my wife, and knew not 
whether she lived or died. 

" The cruel soldiery, to save themselves the trouble 

192 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

of hunting for their victims, posted notices teUing the 
people that if they surrendered they would be given badges 
guaranteeing them their lives, but if they hid themselves 
and were caught they would be killed. Many people 
gave themselves up in consequence. As my brother and 
I were standing in the street we saw a group of fifty or 
sixty persons, half of them women, a little further on, 
and my brother said : ' If we hide and are discovered we 
shall certainly be killed. We are only four helpless men, 
so we had better surrender and join that group over there. 
By so doing we may possibly find a means of escape, and 
if not, at least we shall have the satisfaction of perishing 
in a general massacre.' 

" I was far too terrified to suggest any better course, 
so we went and joined the group, expecting to receive our 
badges of safety. The Manchus searched my brothers 
and took away all their money, but oddly enough they 
left me alone. At this moment some women came up, 
and one of them spoke to me. I recognised her at once ; 
the second concubine of my old friend Chu Shu, but I 
begged her not to draw attention to me. She was in a 
pitiable condition, her hair all dishevelled, her breasts 
exposed, and her legs besmeared to the knees with mud. 
Another concubine had a girl baby in arms, but the troops 
first flogged her and then threw her down in the mud. 
Then some more soldiers came forward, collected the women 
and began tying them together at the knees, like a string 
of pearls. We were then marched off in a body, one man 
with a sword leading the way and another on either side 
to prevent any one escaping, just as if they were driving 
sheep to market. At every step we took we saw dead 
bodies lying in agonised attitudes, babies who had been 
crushed to shapelessness beneath the hoofs of horses, 
women with their new-born babes by the roadside all 
beaten to a pulp. The streets reeked like a shambles, 
here and there one heard the groans of a few dying 
o 193 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

wretches. Arms and legs protruded from every ditch, 
inextricably mingled. 

" We were taken to the house of Colonel Yao Yung-yen, 
entering it by the back door. Every room that I saw was 
full of corpses, and I said to myself that mine would surely 
be added to their number. However, there were no Manchu 
butchers at work there for the time being, and after passing 
through several courtyards we were brought out through 
the front of the building. Thence we were led to the house 
of a Shansi merchant, one Ch'iao Cheng-wang, the head- 
quarters of the men who were our captors. As we entered 
I noticed a soldier mounting guard over three comely 
females. The floor was strewn deep with valuable silks 
and furs. Our three guards laughed loudly at the sight 
and then drove us, a party of fifty, into the back room, 
while they placed the women in an inner apartment. 
In the room into which we were driven three seamstresses 
\vere sitting at work. One of them was about thirty-five, 
and very smartly dressed. She was a native of Yang-chou, 
and seemed perfectly happy, chaffing the soldiers merrily. 
Her behaviour was wanton in the extreme ; as I watched 
her making eyes at the men I heard one of the Manchus 
say : 'During the Korean campaign hardly a woman 
bought her life at. the price of her virtue. Who would 
have believed that the inhabitants of this great Empire of 
China could be as shameless as this wench ? ' 

" Then the soldiers began undressing the women who 
had accompanied us; they stripped them of their wet 
apparel and made them stand up stark naked before us 
all. The seamstress was called in and told to measure 
them for fresh clothes. The women were too much afraid 
of the soldiers to attempt to hide their nakedness with 
their hands. When they had all been dressed in new 
clothes they were supplied with meat and drink, and the 
soldiers began making love to them. Most of them yielded 
readily enough to the solicitations of their captors. 

194 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" Next one of the Manchus began brandishing his 
sword and shouted : ' Come here, you Chinese savages.' 
They then bound all of us who were in the front row with 
cords, including my eldest brother. My second brother 
called out to me : ' It's all up with us ; what's the use 
of talking ? ' He seized my hand and led me forward ; 
my younger brother followed. We were bound, some 
fifty of us in all, and the Manchus led us out into the court- 
yard, yelling like savages. Then the butchery began : 
Every one was struck dumb with terror, and I stood there 
and watched it for a few moments, awaiting my turn. 
At first I looked forward to death calmly enough, but 
suddenly I felt as if aid had been vouchsafed to me from 
some supernatural power. Bound as I was, I managed 
to creep away unnoticed, and reached one of the back 
rooms of the house, where I freed myself from my bonds. 
I found that I was in the women's quarters, where there 
were still some of the older women who had been unable 
to escape. 

"At the back of this part of the house the Manchu 
horses and pack camels were stabled, completely blocking 
all chance of egress. Creeping on hands and knees, 
I managed to crawl under the beasts, any one of which 
might have trampled me to a jelly. After getting past 
them I found the walls too high for escape in that direction, 
but to my left there was a passage leading to a postern 
door. This door — half way down the passage — was 
nailed securely, so I went some distance up the passage, 
where I could distinctly hear the groans of my dying 
comrades and the shouts of their executioners. Passing 
the kitchen, I saw four men at work there. They had been 
pressed into the job by the Manchus, and I implored them 
to let me join them as hewer of wood or drawer of water. 
They angrily refused, saying : ' We four have been 
specially assigned to this duty; if the Manchus find an 
extra hand here they will suspect us of conspiracy, and 

195 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

we shall all be killed.' As I continued to beseech them 
they pushed me out, driving me forth with a carving 
knife. 

" I then rushed back to the door leading out of the 
passage and pulled at it with all my might. I seized 
the support in the socket of which the door was inserted, 
and with a stupendous effort managed to pull it out. 
With bleeding fingers I tried to push the door open, but 
it was still effectually closed from the outside by a heavy 
beam. The long spell of wet weather had caused it to 
stick fast in its socket, and I could not move it. But as 
I pushed and pulled, by great good luck the top hinge 
of the door gave way, and it fell outwards with a heavy 
crash. 

" Again some unseen power seemed to aid me, and I 
was through the postern door in a flash. The spot at 
which I emerged was at the foot of the city wall, and some 
scouts made signs to me to advance no further, so I made 
my way into a house just beyond the one I had left. 
Every room in it was full of refugees in hiding, except the 
gate-house, which looked out on to the main street, and 
which was so often visited by soldiers that no one had 
ventured to go there. 

" There was a corner in this gate-house behind a very 
high cupboard, into which I managed to climb. As I 
waited, scarcely daring to breathe, I heard an agonised 
voice, which I recognised all too well, the voice of my 
younger brother begging for mercy. A sound of blows 
followed, and then I heard my second eldest brother cry : 
' I have money buried in my cellar at home. Let me go 
and I will bring it to you.' After that all was silence, 
and my heart seemed to cease beating. I felt as if my brain 
were on fire; the tears refused to well from my eyes, 
and my bowels were rent asunder. My tongue clove to my 
mouth, and I think I lost consciousness. Shortly after- 
wards a soldier came in, dragging a woman with him. 

196 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

He ordered her to lie with him on the couch; when she 
refused, he forced her until she was compelled to yield. 

" My own position was now one of extreme peril. 
Seizing the first opportunity, I managed to climb from the 
cupboard, which was open at the top, on to the cross-beam 
of the loft above. It was as black as pitch up there; 
and every now and then soldiers passing by would look 
in and prod the loft matting above their heads with their 
long spears. Hearing no sound, they concluded it was 
empty. I lay up there all that day; during that time 
about a score of persons were murdered in the room beneath 
me. Out in the street I could hear sounds of horsemen 
riding by, with shrieking women in their train. There was 
no rain that day, but the sky was overcast. 

" As the day drew to its close there were fewer soldiers 
about, but the wailing of homeless refugees served to 
remind me of my two brothers' pitiful deaths. I wondered 
if my wife and son still lived, and if so, where they might 
be hiding. As the night fell I crept down from my loft 
and went out into the street. The road was full of people 
crouching in attitudes of despair, some stooping over 
corpses and calling them by name. Seeing torches moving 
towards me, I hurriedly made down a side lane towards 
the city wall. Here the piles of corpses made progress 
difficult, and I stumbled over them again and again. 
It took me three hours, from eight o'clock to eleven, to 
reach my eldest brother's house. He, with my wife and 
child, were there before me ; I could not bear to tell them 
of the death of our two brothers. 

" I asked my wife how she had escaped. She replied : 
' When the soldiers were driving us along, I was ahead 
of the rest and somehow or other escaped attention. 
Carrying Peng'rh in my arms I got away and hid myself 
in a cellar. My sister could not come with me; she 
had sprained her ankle, and a soldier was carrying her 
in his arms. My hiding-place was soon discovered, 

197 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

and we were taken to a room in which there were some 
thirty or forty men and women, all bound. My captor 
gave me into the charge of one of the women jailers. 
In the meantime, my sister had been carried away and 
I saw her no more. After a while, as the soldiers did not 
come back, I persuaded the women jailers to allow me 
to escape. They did so, and outside I met Mrs. Hung 
(a relative of her brother), who brought me here.' 

" I then told them my experiences. While I was speak- 
ing Mrs. Hung came in and brought some rice, but none 
of us could eat. Fires were again breaking out all over 
the city ; by their light one could see a long distance. At 
the back of the Ho family's graveyard there were groups 
of people lying under the trees, and the sound of wailing 
mothers and children was most pitiful to hear. My wife 
said she wished to kill herself; we talked together all 
through the night, and I dissuaded her for the present. 
In the morning she led me to the end of a winding passage, 
where there was a room full of coffins awaiting burial. 
Here I crouched down in some straw and hid, after placing 
the child in one of the coffins and covering him with 
matting. My wife concealed herself in front. I dared 
not move hand or foot, and soon my limbs were com- 
pletely numbed. AH day we could hear the voices of 
soldiers cursing, and the pitiful entreaties of their victims. 
A southerner before a Manchu was like a sheep in the 
hands of the butcher; hardly any attempted even to 
escape. Towards evening I peeped out and counted over 
a hundred dead bodies in that one courtyard. 

" Little Peng'rh slept on the top of the coffin right 
through that terrible day, and never stirred but once, 
when I wetted his lips with water which I brought in a 
hollow tile from the ditch outside. As evening came on 
Mrs. Hung came again, and with her we returned to the 
room in which we had passed the night. She told me that 
my sister-in-law had been carried off, together with my 

198 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

little nephew, an infant in arms. We counted them both 
for dead, which made four deaths in my family in two days. 

" I tried to procure a little rice, but without success. 
My brother and I talked together all that night. Thrice 
my wife attempted suicide, but each time Mrs. Hung 
prevented her. Then my brother said : ' We are not 
all likely to survive another day. I am still unhurt. 
Give me the child now and let me try to escape with him.' 
I agreed, and my brother left us. 

" Mrs. Hung advised my wife to hide in her cupboard, 
proposing to change places with her. However, we went 
back to our coffin room. A party of Manchu soldiers 
entered the house shortly afterwards, and discovering 
Mrs. Hung's hiding-place they beat her cruelly; but she 
told them nothing of our whereabouts, thereby earning 
my undying gratitude. Then more troops appeared on 
the scene, but as soon as they saw the coffins came no 
further in our direction. At last a party of ten ruffianly- 
looking Manchus entered the room, and one of them seized 
a pole and began poking at my feet. I rose and showed 
myself. Their guide was a Yang-chou man whom I 
knew by sight, and I begged him to ask them to spare me. 
They asked for money, and I gave them some. One of 
the soldiers shouted : ' Let's spare this fellow's life 
for the present,' and they all went away. Then a young 
fellow in red clothes with a long sword entered, and began 
brandishing it in my direction. He, too, wanted money, 
and I gave him some. He was not satisfied, and pointed 
at my wife. She was expecting her confinement very 
shortly, and now lay motionless on the ground. I deceived 
him by telling him that she had been injured : ' My wife 
is near her time,' I said, ' and yesterday she fell from a 
roof and injured herself. She cannot sit up, and has to 
remain lying down.' The red-clothed man did not believe 
me, but pulled open my wife's dress to examine her person. 
He noticed that her lower garments were caked in blood 

199 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

(she had previously daubed it on), and so believed my story. 
He had with him a young woman and two little children ; 
one of them, a boy, cried to his mother for food. This 
enraged the soldier, who brained the poor child on the 
stone floor. He then departed with the mother and her 
little girl. 

" After this I made for a neighbour's house, and im- 
plored him to let us take shelter there. He said he had 
no room. My wife again begged to commit suicide, and 
as I felt there was no longer any hope I agreed; so we 
proceeded to hang ourselves with one rope to the rafter. 
But the noose had been clumsily adjusted, and we both 
fell with a crash to the ground. More soldiers entered 
the premises, but they marched straight through and went 
their ways. My wife rushed out from the chamber into 
an outhouse, which was full of straw; here there were 
a number of country women, who allowed her to enter, 
but they had no room for me. I ran as quickly as I 
could towards some straw which was piled in a heap in 
the southern corner, climbed up to the top of the stack, 
and covered myself completely with the straw. I thought 
I should be safe there, but in a little while there came a 
soldier, who jumped up and began poking about with a 
long spear. I came^ forth from the straw and offered him 
money to spare my life. He searched about and discovered 
several other refugees, who all escaped by likewise tender- 
ing him silver. After he had withdrawn we all crept 
back into our hiding-place. Down in the middle of the 
straw I noticed a couple of long tables, which seemed to 
offer an excellent refuge for several persons. Unfortu- 
nately for my idea, part of the adjoining wall had collapsed, 
and there was a wide chink, through which our movements 
could be seen from without. I had not noticed this, and 
had just lain down when a soldier began prodding at me 
with a spear; he succeeded in wounding me and my 
companions in misery. The lower part of my back 

200 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

received a nasty gash. We all scrambled out as best we 
could, and again I went to my wife's new quarters. All 
the women there were crouching on piles of firewood; 
they had smeared their faces and hair with blood and 
mud and cinders, so that they looked more like demons 
than women, and I only recognised my wife by her voice. 

" I implored them to allow me to get in amongst them, 
and they managed to find me a place right at the bottom 
of the straw, with the women all lying on top of me. 
I was nearly stifled, but my wife procured a long hollow 
bamboo, which I placed in my mouth, and through it 
inhaled a little fresh air from above. A soldier came to 
the door, murdered two women whom he had dragged 
thither, and then went off. 

" The day wore on; it grew dark, and the women got 
up. I then came out of my hiding-place, soaking with 
perspiration, and my wife and I went back to the Hung's 
house, where we found not only Mrs. Hung and her husband 
but also my brother and little Peng'rh. He said he had 
been forced by some Manchus to load carts all day, but 
they had been kind to little Peng'rh. They had given 
him a string of cash at the end of his day's work besides 
a safe conduct flag. The streets were piled high with 
corpses and all the ditches choked with blood. A report 
was current that a certain Colonel Wang Shao-yang, on 
good terms with the Manchus, was providing relief for 
the homeless and destitute, and that his intercession 
had saved many from being murdered. In spite of all 
our misery I slept soundly that night; when morning 
broke we had entered upon our ninth day of tribulation. 

" So far we had marvellously escaped, but rumours 
were being noised abroad that all the survivors were to 
be massacred that day, so that many, at the risk of their 
lives, fled from the city by means of ropes let down from 
the wall. Meantime, outlaws and cut-throats from the 
country had begun to make their way into the city, 

201 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

plundering whatever was left, or else, lying in wait outside, 
they would intercept the escaping town people and despoil 
them. Under these circumstances I dared not make the 
attempt to quit Yang-chou, and my brother was unwilling 
to start forth alone. So that evening I concealed myself 
again under some straw; my wife and the child lay on 
top. Many times did my wife owe her safety to her 
advanced pregnancy. Soldiers often came in, but we 
were able to buy them off with bribes . Finally a wolf -eyed, 
lantern-faced Manchu entered and glared at my wife 
ferociously. He pulled her about violently, but she lay 
still, and told him the same story about having fallen 
from a height. He did not believe her, and compelled 
her to rise. She sank again immediately, whereupon the 
soldier took his sword and cut at her back, blood gushing 
from each stroke. My wife had previously begged me not 
to betray my presence, even to save her life, as there was 
a chance of their sparing the child even if they killed her, 
and if I discovered myself the child would surely starve, for 
both its parents would be dead. So I remained hidden in 
the straw and said nothing, expecting that each moment 
would be my wife's last. The soldier finally caught her 
by the hair, twisted her long tresses round his arm and 
brutally pulled her ^ along, belabouring her all the while. 
He dragged her from the pile of straw down the street 
for about fifty yards, pausing after every few paces to 
slash at her with his sword. At this moment a party 
of cavalry came up, and one of the horsemen spoke to the 
soldier in Manchu. He at once desisted, and left my wife, 
who managed to crawl back, bleeding in seven or eight 
places, and covered with the marks of her terrible ill- 
treatment. She continued moaning all the rest of that 
day. 

" More fires were started and several stacks of straw in 
the Hos' graveyard blazed up. It is impossible to estimate 
the number of those who were either burned to death that 

202 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

night or, escaping from the flames, were butchered in 
the streets. The safest course, which we adopted, was to 
lie by the roadside concealed amongst the festering 
corpses, but even then there was no certainty of escaping 
destruction. 

" Towards dawn we crept out and lay awhile at the back 
of a grave-mound. We were caked all over with mud 
and excrement, and looked like any thing but human beings. 
A fire close by spread to the trees by the graveside, and, 
what with the roaring of the flames and the howling of 
the wind, we felt as if we were already in the infernal 
regions. Ghastly was the spectacle as the dawn broke 
and a pallid sun appeared. On all sides we beheld gaunt 
fleeting spectres of men and women, our fellow countrymen, 
while the Manchus, like so many Rakchas,^ chased them 
up and down as if they were already denizens of the nether- 
most hell. If we closed our eyes our fevered brains 
conjured up visions of tortures worse than those we had 
already undergone. Suddenly I heard the sound of 
rushing feet. Looking up, I was horrified to see that my 
brother had been seized by a Manchu soldier and was 
making desperate efforts to escape from his hold. At 
last he broke away, but the soldier was after him. For 
a few breathless moments I gazed in horror; in the end 
my brother came tottering back, stark naked and with 
dishevelled hair, in the firm grasp of the Manchu. He 
implored me to offer the man money to save his life. 
I had only one silver ingot left, and this I offered to the man, 
but he seized his sword furiously and stabbed my brother 
in the neck. He fell to earth, blood gushing from his 
wounds. Poor little Peng'rh (aged five years) seized 
the soldier's knees and begged him with tears to spare 
his uncle's life. The soldier calmly wiped his blade on 
Peng'rh's coat and then stabbed my brother again, this 
time in the head, and as it seemed to me, mortally. Then 
1 Demons of the Buddhist inferno, which devour men. 
203 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

he caught me by the hair and demanded money, belabour- 
ing me the while with the blunt side of his sword. 

" I told him that my money was all gone, but offered 
to get him other articles. So he dragged me to the Hungs' 
house, where I showed him my wife's silk clothes and 
jewellery, which we had hidden in two water-jars. Every- 
thing was turned out on the doorstep, and he helped him- 
self to whatever took his fancy. He removed all the pearls 
and gold ornaments, made a selection of the best clothes, 
and observing that little Peng'rh had a silver locket round 
his neck, wrenched it off with his knife. Then he turned 
to me and said : ' I won't kill you, but don't rejoice 
too soon; others will kill you before very long.' This 
showed me that a general massacre was afoot, and I felt 
that our last hour had come. But my wife and I hurried 
back to see how it fared with our brother. The woimd 
in his neck was fearful — a gaping hole, several inches 
deep — and from the gash in his head a portion of the 
brain was protruding. He had also a terrible wound 
in the breast. We took him to the Hungs' house and asked 
how he felt. ' No pain,' he replied, ' just drowsy. I 
want to sleep.' He was only half conscious when we 
left him there to go and hide ourselves close to a neigh- 
bour's house amidst a pile of corpses. As we lay there, 
suddenly we heard a voice cry : ' The general massacre 
is fixed for to-morrow. All who can escape had better 
do so.' 

" My wife urged me to fly the city, but I reflected that 
my brother was desperately wounded, and could not find 
it in my heart to leave him. Besides, we had now no 
money, and if we left the city we should only be facing 
the certainty of death from starvation. We discussed 
our position miserably for a long time. By this time the 
fires had burned themselves out, and we could hear the 
booming of distant guns. There were not so many 
soldiers about, so I moved with my wife and child to an 

204 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

outhouse, in which dry dung was kept. Mrs. Hung soon 
joined us. 

" As we sat there some Manchus came by with five 
women, two of whom were stricken with years. The 
youngest one laughed gaily and seemed quite happy. 
Two more soldiers came up and tried to snatch the younger 
women away. A fight ensued, and one of the original 
party, speaking in Manchu, pleaded with the newcomers 
to desist. The last two men managed, however, to carry 
off the youngest woman, and bore her underneath a large 
tree, where they assaulted her, while their comrades did 
the same with the other females. The older women 
pleaded for mercy, but the younger did not seem in the 
least ashamed. Later on I saw that the youngest woman 
was in a state of collapse. I recognised her as the wife of 
an acquaintance named Chia, and thought that her wanton 
behaviour had met with its just reward. Frailty in a 
woman is paid for, sooner or later. 

" At this moment a young man of about thirty, wearing 
a Manchu hat, clad in red clothes and wearing black satin 
boots, came riding by. He had a breastplate of the 
finest mail; his steed was beautifully caparisoned and 
he was attended by a large suite. His features, though 
Tartar, were exceedingly handsome; he had a long 
protruding chin and a lofty forehead. Amongst his 
retinue there were many Yang-chou people. This was 
Prince Yii, the Manchu Commander-in-chief, and uncle 
of their Emperor. 

" He looked closely at me, saying : ' You don't look 
like a common person; who and what are you? ' I 
reflected that some of our people had escaped by saying 
that they were scholars by profession, while others of the 
literati had been murdered on suspicion of anti-Manchu 
proclivities. I did not, therefore, reveal my identit}^ 
but concocted a plausible story. Then he asked about 
my wife, and I told him the truth. He then said : ' I have 

205 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

given orders that all killing shall cease from to-morrow, 
so you will be quite safe.' He bade some of his retinue give 
me clothes and an ingot of silver. ' How long,' he asked, 
' is it since you have had a good meal ? ' I answered : 
' Five days.' He commanded us to follow him; my wife 
and I dared not disobey, though suspicious of his inten- 
tions. We reached a mansion where preparations for a 
banquet were laid out on a most lavish scale. Victuals 
of all kinds were there in abundance. He called a woman, 
saying : ' Treat these people well,' and then departed. 
It was now twilight. My wife's younger brother had been 
carried off and we knew nothing of his fate ; my wife 
was very sad at his loss. The woman soon came out 
with bowls of fish and rice, and as this mansion was quite 
near to the Hungs' house, I carried some food to my 
brother; but he could not eat it. I combed his hair 
and washed away the blood from his face, feeling all the 
time as though a sword were at my own heart. People's 
minds were more composed on hearing that the massacres 
were to cease. 

"Next day was the 1st of the 5th Moon; although 
the situation was much improved, looting and murder 
did not cease entirely. All the well-to-do families had 
been stripped bare ^ of everything; hardly any females 
over ten years of age had escaped violation. To-day one 
of the Manchu Generals, the Earl of Established Peace, 
re-entered Yang-chou and distributed some food to the 
people, over which they fought like ravenous tigers. 
On the second day proclamations were issued that the 
Manchus had established local officials in Yang-chou 
and the surrounding districts. The magistrates were 
sending out runners to tranquillise the people. The 
Buddhist temples received orders to burn all corpses; 
there were still many women hiding in their shrines, and 
many had died there of starvation. According to the 
official records of bodies found, the total number of persons 

206 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

who perished during these days was eight hundred thousand, 
but this does not include those who perished in the flames 
or who drowned themselves in the river. 

" On the third day a notice was circulated that relief 
offices were distributing grain and rice. I went with 
Mrs. Hung to the place, which was the former commissariat 
department of General Shih K'o-fa. There were tons of 
rice and grain stored in bins, but in a very short space of 
time the whole of it had been distributed to the famishing 
crowd. They presented a pitiful spectacle, most of them 
with maimed limbs and broken heads, and all in filthy 
apparel. But when the grain was distributed each and 
all fought like wolves; children even forgot to consider 
their parents, and struggled only for themselves. Many 
aged and infirm persons waited all day without securing 
a mouthful. 

" On the fourth day the sky cleared and the heat of 
the sun was great. The stench of the corpses was over- 
powering, and thousands were burned during the day. A 
mighty smoke was raised, and the smell of the burning 
bodies filled the air, tainting it for miles around. I 
burned some cotton wool and human bone, and with 
the calcined ashes prepared ointment for my brother's 
wounds. He accepted it gratefully, but could not utter 
a word. 

" On the fifth day many people who had remained in 
hiding began to come forth; people's hearts were too 
full for speech. We five, including the Hungs, were still 
alive, but as yet we did not dare to spend the day in our 
own house. After breakfast we went out and sat by the 
roadside. No one dared to wash or dress his hair, for 
there were still robbers about, but these were only common 
footpads ; they had no swords, only cudgels, with which 
they frightened people into giving them money. But 
even so they beat several people to death and outraged 
many women. We could not tell if these wretches were 

207 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Manchus or Chinese soldiers or merely local ruffians. 
To-day my brother died of his grievous wounds, which 
had mortified. My loss is not to be described. At the 
beginning of the trouble we were a party of eight brothers 
and sisters and their issue; now only three remained, I, 
my wife and Peng'rh. 

" In all I have described the events of ten days, from 
the 25th of the 5th to the 5th of the 4th Moon. I 
have only told of my own experiences and the things of 
which I have been an eye-witness. In all my story there 
is not one word of hearsay or rumour, and I have refrained 
from mentioning events which did not come under my own 
observation. Hence I know that this record is true. 
Perchance posterity, born in a happier age, may be 
interested in perusing this diary, and it may serve to point 
a moral for the unreflecting. It may even cause vindictive 
and cruel-minded men to reflect on the error of their ways, 
and thus be of some value, as a solemn warning." 

Thus it was in China in the year 1645. For 265 years 
thereafter the Manchus ruled over the Empire which they 
had won by the sword. Under the wise government of 
their earlier Emperors the country rapidly recovered, 
as it always does^ from the abomination of desolation 
wrought first by Li Tzu-cheng's rebellion and then by the 
Manchus' ruthless war of conquest. New cities sprang 
up where no stone had been left upon another to tell the 
story of the dead ; once more the wilderness was made to 
blossom as the rose, until, in the fulness of time, the 
Manchus' course of Empire was run and, as they lost 
their prestige as rulers, rebellion and anarchy once more 
laid waste the land. 

In the events which have marked the passing of this 
once Imperial race, none display more vividly the pitiless 
irony of Fate and the innate savagery of Orientals in 
their crises of battle and sudden death than the slaughter 

208 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

of the Manchu garrisons at cities like Sianfii during the 
recent revolution. Describing the sack of the Tartar 
city at Sianfu in October 1911, one who passed through 
it shortly afterwards wrote : ^ 

" Once the Chinese set about this business of destruction, 
the lust of blood, the madness of killing, possessed them. 
Old and young, men and women, little children, were alike 
butchered. The Tartar General, old, hopeless, cut off 
from his people at the critical juncture, was unable to 
face the situation. The safety he had won for the moment 
he felt not worth the keeping ; he ended his life by throw- 
ing himself down a well. Houses were plundered and then 
burnt; those who would fain have laid hidden till the 
storm was past were forced to come out into the open. 
The revolutionaries, protected by a parapet of the wall, 
poured a heavy, unceasing, relentless fire into the doomed 
Tartar city. Those who tried to escape thence into the 
Chinese city were cut down as they emerged from the 
gates. At the western gates the Mohammedans cynically 
received them for their own purpose. In the darkness some 
managed to scale the city wall, and descend the other side, 
wade through the moat and escape to the open country. 
But not all who attempted this succeeded. The wall is 
thirty-six feet in height and at the top is some sixteen 
yards wide, and on it at various points clustered the 
Chinese soldiers. The fugitives to escape had to slip 
between these, avoid the flashing lanterns and find a means 
of affixing their ropes safely before descending. Some 
possibly escaped by venturing to leap from the height. 

" In despair, many Manchus themselves set fire to their 
houses ; at least they might cheat their murderers of the 
loot they sought. Into the English Hospital, days after- 
wards, when the first fury was passed, men were brought 
in a shocking condition ; men who had attempted to cut 

^ The Passing of the Dragon. By J. C. Keyte. (Hodder and 
Stoughton.) 1913. 

p 209 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

their throats. Asked why they had done so they answered 
simply : ' The wells were full.' And the Shensi wells 
are not the shallow ones of some parts of China; they 
are thirty-six feet deep. There is such a man in that 
hospital to-day. All his family, wife, daughters, sons, were 
slain or destroyed themselves ; he lives because the well 
was choked with dead or dying, and he failed in his 
attempt to end his life by other means. 

" There were many Manchus in the Chinese city at the 
time of the outbreak. Some escaped for the moment 
through taking shelter with friends. But even twenty days 
after the outbreak, a Manchu detected on the street would 
be dragged off to instant execution. Hundreds were 
thus hunted through the streets and lanes of the city. 
They were known by their clothing, by their cast of 
countenance, by their speech. . . . 



" When the Manchus found that further resistance was 
useless, they in many cases knelt on the ground, laying 
down their weapons and begged the soldiers for life. They 
were shot as they knelt. Sometimes there was a whole 
line of them. In one doorway a group of between ten 
and twenty were thus killed in cold blood. 

*' A girl came down the street; a girl of twenty, with 
hands bound. She had been hastily dragged before the 
' judges ! ' in the Magazine, temporary headquarters 
of the Revolution, and was now being taken out a hundred 
yards or so to be beheaded. And in her face was that 
which once seen — by the passer-by at least — ^was never 
to be forgotten. It was not despair. Ah no ! That 
anodyne had had no time in which to reach her. It 
was the full young life cheated of its days, going out into 
the dark, the path before her littered by fearful reminders of 
the fate in front. From the pallid lips no sound issued; 
they were held, as the girl's whole being was held, by utter 
terror. The shaking limbs, the stumbling gait, proclaimed 

210 




A War Junk at the Time of Lord Macartney's Mission. 

(From a painting by W, Alexander in the British Museum.) 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

it, but more than all the awful haunting eyes. Along 
the route where the reek of blood made the very air bitter, 
acrid in the brilliant sunshine, where curses and sobs 
mingled with groans and derisive raucous cries rent the 
air, they went. A woman, a very girl, caught within the 
enemy's gates, not dying with her own people, not able 
to save herself with them if only in a death she saw and 
chose; but hurried along thus, as to a shambles. And 
her crime ? Her birth. A Manchu. The soldier muttered 
impatiently. He had other affairs to attend to when 
this was over. Time meant money, meant sport, in those 
days. He stalked along behind her with naked sword 
held up. ' Hurry,' he snarled, ' Hurry.' 

" Days after the outbreak an Englishman, passing down 
a side street, heard groans, heard the cry of pain, coming 
up with hollow sound from the depths. At the mouth 
of a well stood some Chinese. It was their day. The 
pitiful cries went on, the feeble moaning varied with the 
sharp cries. A Manchu, who had thrown himself, or 
been thrown down this well, had lain there with broken 
limbs ; lay there in agony, appealing almost unconsciously 
for pity. 

*' The men at the well mouth picked up lumps of earth, 
stones, picked up what came to hand. There came up 
from the well's depths the thud of missiles on human flesh." 

And so the whirligig of Time brings in its merciless 
revenges; the butchers of to-day are the victims of to- 
morrow. Europe, with its reserves of inherited wealth, 
with outlets overseas for its surplus millions, its organised 
philanthropy and scientific economics, has no conception 
of the realities of life in furthest Asia, the same now as 
they were in the days when " the Lord commanded Moses 
to war against the Midianites, and they slew all the males, 
and burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt." It is not 
possible for us, in our well-ordered materialism, to sym- 

211 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

pathise with the forces of atavism, the instinctive terrors 
and cruelties that dwell for ever in the soul of this people. 
The sack of Yang Chou-fu and that of the Tartar city at 
Sianfu are in reality insignificant incidents, normal features 
in the life history of a race which since the beginning of 
recorded time has learned " to eat its bread with quaking 
and to drink its water with trembling." 



212 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE LAST OF THE MINGS 

KuEi Wang (Prince Kuei), the last and the longest-Hved 
of the four fugitive claimants to the Dragon Throne, 
kept up a semblance of sovereignty from 1646 (when 
his predecessor was executed by the Manchus at Foochow) 
till 1659, when he was compelled to flee over the Yunnan 
frontier into Burmah. When he succeeded to the Great 
Inheritance, under the reign title of " Yung Li," the 
harried Court of the Mings, shorn now of all its regal pomp 
and revenues, was in Kuangtung, but in the following 
year, closely pursued by the ever- victorious Manchus, it 
fled into Kuangsi. There a stand was made, and for a 
time the fortunes of the Mings seemed to be in the 
ascendant. In 1648 three provinces owned their allegi- 
ance, and a force of over 200,000 men still held in check 
the alien invaders. The death of the Regent, Prince Jui, 
(1649) put new heart into the cause, and the serious 
rebellions which broke out against the Manchus in Hunan, 
Chekiang and other provinces, all justified the Mings 
in hoping for a restoration of their House. But it was 
not to be. By the year 1650, the rank and file of the 
Mings' adherents consisted chiefly of freebooters and 
recruits drawn from Li Tzii-ch'eng's scattered armies, 
and the small remnant of respectable men who continued 
to follow their fallen fortunes were influenced as much 
by hopes of perquisites and power as by patriotic dislike 
of a foreign ruler. Gradually the flag of the old dynasty 

213 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

became nothing more than a rallying point for political 
adventurers, and the Court a cave of Adullam, to which 
gathered themselves all those that were in distress or 
debt or bitterness of soul. In 1651 the wretched Yung 
Li had been forced to flee further and further West, until 
at last we find him, a refugee and a pensioner, under the 
protection of a leader of desperadoes, one who had taken 
an active part in Li Tzu-ch'eng's rebellion, and who now 
used the Ming claimant and his few faithful Ministers to 
give to his own ambitious schemes a reasonable pretext 
and some semblance of patriotism. From 1655 to 1659 
Kuei Wang, with a remnant of troops commanded by 
another famous freebooter named Li Ting-kuo, was 
closely pursued by the Manchu forces, which then stamped 
out the flickering flames of rebellion in Kueichow and 
Yunnan. Finally, his last battle fought and lost, he fled 
for his life, with a poor handful of followers, across the 
Burmese frontier, near Teng-yueh; there, for a time, he 
found a refuge from the fierce pursuit of Wu San-kuei. 
This General, now all-powerful ruler of two provinces 
under the Manchus, but once the chief hope and defence 
of the Mings at Peking, showed himself brutally pitiless 
in his treatment of the unfortunate Kuei Wang, a broken 
fugitive who could no longer threaten the power of the 
Ta Ching dynasty. The pathetic figure of the last of 
the Mings in exile was, indeed, something to arouse 
sympathy in the mind of any magnanimous man, and 
Wu's implacable cruelty towards him is only explained 
and condoned by Chinese scholars by the fact that his 
education was not that of a literary man. A military 
training, they declare, does not inculcate the canons of 
the Sages. 

From his retreat in Burmah the last of the Mings wrote 
to Wu San-kuei, endeavouring to placate him, or at least 
to dissuade him from further relentless pursuing. The 
letter was written in December 1662. 

214 



I 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

*' Your Excellency has deserved right well of the present 
dynasty, but once you were a bulwark of our own. Under 
it you received hereditary rank and a provincial satrapy, 
so that His late Majesty Ch'ung Chen may be said to 
have conferred exceptional favours on Your Excellency. 

" Unhappily, our dynasty fell upon evil days ; the 
rebel bandit, Li Tzu-ch'eng, laid waste the land and 
marched on our capital. Our tutelary altars were de- 
stroyed, so that His late Majesty felt that suicide was his 
duty, and thousands of our subjects were put to the sword. 

" At that time Your Excellency had not lost all right 
and natural feeling; you wept at the thought of the 
dynasty's plight, and marched to its aid clad in mourning, 
at the head of an avenging host. 

" How comes it then that, since that day, you have 
staked your fortunes upon those of the Manchus, like 
the fox which relied on the prestige of the tiger to lord 
it over the beasts of the forest? You pretended a 
loyal desire to wreak vengeance on our enemies, and all 
the time you were the very humble and obedient servant 
of the new dynasty. 

" Since then, Li Tzu-ch'eng's rebellion has been sup- 
pressed and its leader has met with the fate he deserved, 
but our dynasty had already lost the whole of the northern 
portion of the Empire. Our Ministers in the South could 
not bear to see the dynastic altars bare and untended, 
so they raised up the Emperor Hung Kuang at Nanking 
to succeed Ch'ung Chen. Was it to be expected or be- 
lieved that even then the attacks of the Manchus would 
continue, unrelenting and unceasing? Hung Kuang 
perished in battle, and his successor, Lung Wu, was put 
to death at Foochow. Facing these swift-footed disasters, 
I, all unworthy, had but little desire to live ; what thought 
had I to spare for our dynastic altars? Nevertheless, 
my Ministers forced the Throne upon me, and I was 
reluctantly induced to take up the burden of inheritance. 

215 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

" Since then fifteen years have passed; the first cam- 
paign of my reign lost us Hupei, and after that, further 
disasters followed in Kuangtung. Again and again have 
I had to flee, in panic-stricken confusion, before the 
advancing Manchus. Fortunately, at a moment of great 
peril, Li Ting-kuo came to my aid in Kuei-chou and brought 
me safe to Nan-an in Yunnan. There I had hoped to be 
left in peace by my ruthless enemies, to be allowed to 
remain in possession of that remote and worthless corner 
of my ancestors' patrimony. 

" But Your Excellency has forgotten the benefits 
which my ancestors bestowed upon you; evidently you 
hope to go down to history as one of the founders of this 
new dynasty. You led your armies into Yunnan, destroy- 
ing my nest of peaceful retreat. Again I had to cross a 
desert barrier, and now I look for my protection to Burmese 
hospitality. In this remote region joy and I have long 
been strangers; tears are my daily meat and drink. 
Although I have lost the glorious heritage, won by my 
ancestors at the cost of so many and great hardships, 
no doubt but that I should count myself lucky in that I 
still draw the breath of pain among these people of the 
barbarian South ! 

" But Your Excellency, not to be appeased, desists 
not from pursuing me to the end. You have now asked 
your Sovereign's permission to invade Burmah at the 
head of a mighty army, in order ruthlessly to hunt me 
down, me, a sad and solitary dweller in the land. Is 
not the whole Empire wide enough for your ambitions? 
Is there then to be no resting-place for me, 'neath 
heaven's vault upon the bosom of earth? Or is it, 
perchance, that your insatiate ambition is not content 
with the princedom which you have received, and that 
you seek my destruction in order that you may be crowned 
with fresh honours? Is it that you are jealous of our 
founder, T'ai Tsu, who won the Empire by deeds of 

216 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

glorious merit, after being ' combed by the wind and 
bathed in the sun,' and that you feel it hard that you 
have not been left one inch of ground which you could 
boast of having won by yourself ? In despite, you must 
needs first destroy our ancestral altars, and now follow 
up that brave deed by slaughtering T'ai Tsu's descendants ! 
Can you, I wonder, bear to peruse the ode, ' Oh ! owl, 
oh ! owl, you have robbed me of my young; destroy not 
also my nest; with love and care I nurtured them; 
truly I deserve to be pitied without shame ' ? 

" Your Excellency's ancestors won a glorious place 
in our annals ; it may be that you refuse to show to me 
an atom of pity, but can it be that you are lost to all 
remembrance of His late Majesty, who gave you high 
rank? Even if you reck nothing for him, surely you 
cannot forget the merits of my great ancestor T'ai Tsu 
and of his son Yung Lo (Cheng Tsu) and their successors ! 
It may be that you have also forgotten their names; 
but even so, you cannot be so devoid of filial piety as 
to forget the example of your own forefathers ! 

" What has the Great Pure Manchu dynasty done for 
Your Excellency to win such loyal devotion and service 
at your hands ? What crime, what act of unjust oppression, 
have I committed towards Your Excellency that you 
thus evilly intreat me? Thinking to be wise, you are 
become as a fool; believing yourself loyal to your new 
masters, you are at heart a traitor both to old and new. 
Ten thousand generations hence, what name will Your 
Excellency leave in history? what manner of man will 
posterity call you? To-day I make appeal to Your Ex- 
cellency. I am left with scarcely a soldier to defend me ; 
I stand alone, like one bereft of his parents, against a 
hostile world. My life, humble and worthless, is in Your 
Excellency's hands. If you must have my head, it is 
forfeit to you. I shrink not from death, though the 
undergrowth be soaked with my blood and my scattered 

217 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

bones lie whitening the plain. Far be it from me to 
expect Your Excellency to spare my life, or to plead with 
you to grant me a narrow plot of ground on which I, 
the descendant of the glorious Ming dynasty, may still 
eke out an existence. Yet why should you not allow 
me to benefit by the nurturing protection of the Manchu 
dynasty, under which even the grass of the field is watered 
by timely dew and rain from above ? If I had a million 
men-at-arms, cheerfully would I place them all under 
your banner. It is now for Your Excellency to decide. 
Faithful servant of the new dynasty though you be, it 
remains for Your Excellency to show that you have not 
forgotten past benefits heaped upon you by His late 
Majesty, and that you still cherish the memory of my 
predecessors' glorious achievements. I must leave Your 
Excellency to think out and decide this matter for 
yourself." 

To this pathetic letter Wu San-kuei made no reply, 
but proceeded to threaten the Burmese King with dire 
penalties unless the fugitive were promptly surrendered. 

About three months after Yung Li's vain attempt to 
placate Wu San-kuei, the Burmese invited the remnant 
of the Emperor's Court to meet one of their chieftains on 
a small island for tjie purpose of arranging the terms of 
a treaty. Here they treacherously seized them all, and 
slew Prince Sung with forty-two high officials. Many 
women of the Imperial and princely households committed 
suicide. Only a few of the Emperor's followers escaped, 
among them a General named Teng. He subsequently 
declared that the Burmese would have killed the Emperor 
also, but a message arrived from the Burmese King (who 
had just succeeded to the Throne) that he was to be held 
as a prisoner and handed over to Wu San-kuei. Early 
in the 12th Moon the Manchus arrived upon the scene 
and carried off Yung Li to Yiinnan. 

A certain Chi T'an-jan, native of Nanking, and his 

218 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

father accompanied the escort which brought the ex- 
Emperor back to China. The following account is in 
Chi T'an-jan's own words, as recorded in a contemporary 
memoir : " When His Majesty crossed the Yunnan 
boundary he was met by Wu San-kuei, who had prepared 
a sedan-chair for his use. All along the route the people 
crowded to see him, saying : ' This is the former Son of 
Heaven,' and hardly a man but shed tears as he gazed 
on so pitiful a sight. The Emperor was round of coun- 
tenance, with a protuberant forehead ; his beard was long 
and full, and he looked every inch a King. A number of 
the Manchu bodyguard joined in a plot to rescue and 
defend him, so moved were they at the thought of his 
wrongs and so wrath with Wu San-kuei for his treachery. 
But the plot miscarried, and over forty of them were 
executed. I myself witnessed their deaths ; one of them 
was of immense stature, nigh seven feet in height, and 
broad in proportion. It was said that he was the cham- 
pion archer and rider in the Manchu army, as well as a 
great wrestler." 

This conspiracy made Yung Li's plight all the more 
desperate. Wu San-kuei sent couriers to Peking for 
instructions, and in the 8rd Moon of the following year, 
1663, he received a secret decree from the Regent Ao Pai, 
in the name of the Emperor K'ang Hsi, ordering him to 
put Yung Li to death. So Wu invited the ex-Emperor 
to a chess tourney at the Treasury building, just outside 
the northern gate of Yiinnan-fu, and there had him 
strangled. A Chinese author, himself a descendant of 
the Mings, has the following note on Yung Li's death : 
" No one knew that his death had been decided upon for 
that day, but, at about the eleventh hour, the sky, which 
had been clear and calm, became suddenly overcast, and 
there arose a terrible storm, darkening the air with dust. 
Peasants at work near the Temple of Buddhist Conversion, 
close to the Chin-chih lake, half-a-mile from the city, 

219 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

beheld a shooting star fall from Heaven, and it was after- 
wards found that the hour at which they saw it was 
that in which Yung Li was murdered. His remains were 
buried in Yiinnan-fu. His wife and mother were both 
sent to Peking, where they were kindly treated, but soon 
afterwards the ex-Empress Dowager committed suicide. 
Yung Li was thirty-eight years of age at the time of his 
death. He resembled the Emperor Wan Li, his grand- 
father, in face, and also in his hatred of extravagance. 
He was a man of simple tastes, and drank but little wine. 
Although not a great scholar, he was a keen reader, an 
eager student of the classics. Great grief and indignation 
were felt in Yiinnan at his cruel death. Surely, a happier 
day is dawning; let us hope that China may soon see the 
descendants of her old hero, Chu Yiian-chang,^ restored 
once more to their own, and the alien barbarians driven 
back to their Gobi desert." 

One of Yung Li's most devoted adherents was Kung Yi, 
who was President of his Board of Rites; he followed his 
master to Yunnan, and when that province was lost fled 
with him to Burmah. Here he set to work to induce the 
local tribesmen to rally to his succour, but before he had 
had time to achieve any results, Yung Li was treacherously 
captured by the Burmese, who handed him over to Wu 
San-kuei. Kung Yi followed the captive to Yiinnan-fu. 
One day soon after his arrival he prepared food and wine 
and bore them to the place where Yung Li was confined. 
The guards sought to prevent him from entering, but he 
persisted, saying : " Your prisoner is our Chinese Emperor, 
and I am his Minister ; all I ask is to be allowed to see him 
once more. Why do you prevent me ? " So the guards 
reported the matter to Wu San-kuei, who permitted Kung 
Yi to enter. He prepared his little feast in the main room, 
and then invited the Emperor to take his place facing the 
South in the seat of honour on the dais, as if he were 
^ The founder of the Ming dynasty. 
220 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

presiding at a Court banquet, while he knelt dutifully 
below. 

Having made obeisance, he presented the wine. The 
Emperor wept bitterly and put the cup down untouched. 
Kung Yi prostrated himself in the dust, utterly overcome 
with grief. Once more he besought His Majesty to drink, 
and Yung Li forced himself at last to swallow a little. 
Then the Emperor handed a cup to Kung Yi, who drank 
it, and in a few moments he expired. The Emperor 
raised him in his arms and wept bitterly when he saw 
that his faithful servant was dead. Not long after this 
Yung Li was strangled, as above stated, and with him 
ended the last attempt of the Mings to recover their 
Throne. Two centuries later the Taiping rebels raised the 
cry, "Restore the Mings," but it was a battle-cry only, 
just as much lacking in political significance and genuine 
loyalty to the departed dynasty as Sun Yat-sen's melo- 
dramatic performance at the shrine of Chu Yiian-chang 
on the 15th of February, 1912. 

An interesting and little-known result of the tribulations 
and vicissitudes of the fugitive Ming Court, was that 
many of the Imperial clanswomen sought consolation, 
and probably hoped to find practical benefits of European 
intervention, from the practice of the Roman Catholic 
religion. When we remember how great had been the 
influence of the Jesuit fathers (Schall, Ricci, Verbiest 
and others) under the last of the Ming Emperors at Peking 
— an influence which made itself felt, as we have seen, in 
secular and military matters — it is not remarkable that 
their immediate posterity should have founded some hopes 
on a continuance of cordial relations with the Roman 
Catholic priests, who at that time were zealously propa- 
gating their faith, not only at Peking, but in the southern 
provinces. The Portuguese colony of Macao was a very 
important headquarters of Jesuit missionary work, and 
during the earlier years of Yung Li's struggle for the 

221 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

recovery of the Throne, while his forces were endeavouring 
to hold Kuangtung, a German Jesuit, named Andrew 
Xavier Kofiier, was attached to the Ming Court. As the 
result of the labours of this earnest worker in a truly 
grateful soil, Yung Li's wife and mother embraced, and 
openly professed, the faith, and their example was followed 
not only by many of the secondary consorts, but by 
several eunuchs, by over a hundred members of the Im- 
perial Clan and forty high officials. All these, as was duly 
reported to the Vatican, were baptised. Yung Li's titular 
Empress Dowager received the baptismal name of Helen, 
the Heir Apparent that of Constantine, the Empress 
Mother that of Mary, and his Consort that of Anne. Yung 
Li himself never became a convert, because, like his 
ancestors, he was a confirmed polygamist, and could not 
be persuaded to give up his harem. 

In the year 1649, the Empress Helen, acting upon the 
advice of Father Koffler and her Chief Eunuch, " P'an 
Achilles " (who appears to have been a sincerely devout 
Catholic), sent an envoy to the head of the Church at 
Macao desiring that a special mass should be celebrated 
in thanksgiving for the restoration to health of the Heir 
Apparent, and incidentally to pray for the restoration of 
the Ming dynasty. On this interesting occasion the 
Governor of Macao gave a banquet in honour of the 
Imperial envoy and made him a present, useful and 
significant, of a hundred muskets. 

In November of the following year it was decided to 
send a mission via Goa to the Vatican. The Empress 
Helen addressed a letter to Pope Innocent X in her own 
very indifferent handwriting, announcing her conversion 
to the true faith and that of the mother and wife of 
the Emperor. The text of this interesting document 
was first published in a work by the Jesuit Athanasius 
Kirchner at Amsterdam in 1666. (China monumentis, 
qiui sacriSf qua profaniSy etc.) Father Dominic and 

222 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

another Jesuit priest and two Chinese Christians were 
entrusted with this mission to the Vatican ; they also bore 
letters addressed to the Society of Jesus at Rome. Owing 
to many difficulties and delays they did not reach Italy, 
travelling overland via Persia and the Levant, until the 
summer of 1652. In Rome, too, they met with unex- 
pected obstacles, and it was not until 1655, that Pope 
Alexander VII consented to receive the mission in audience 
and gave them replies in the form of letters addressed to 
the Empress Helen and the eunuch P'an. With these 
the envoys returned in due course to China. The Em- 
press's letter to Pope Innocent and another from the 
eunuch are still preserved in the archives at the Vatican.^ 

The Empress Helen's letter contains little beyond general 
expressions of piety and goodwill, but that of P'an 
Achilles records the interesting fact that this eunuch, 
then sixty-two years of age, was in command of all the 
land and sea forces of the Mings in the provinces of Fukhien 
and Kuangtung ; commander also of the Imperial Guard, 
with full powers over the financial and commissariat 
departments. Master of the Ceremonies, and Guardian of 
the State Seal. Which proves that the last of the Mings 
had learned little wisdom from adversity. 

With the death of Yung Li, bowstringed at the furthest 
frontiers of the Empire, the Manchu dynasty's rights to 
rule China were no longer disputed by any legitimate 
claimant, and the splendid recuperative powers of the 
Chinese people, fostered and guided by the wise govern- 
ment of the Emperor K'ang Hsi, speedily brought about 
an era of great prosperity and a widespread revival of art, 
literature and commerce. We shall now proceed to 
consider some of the most notable events and principal 
motive forces in the lives of the Manchu Sovereigns, 
elucidating as far as possible the causes of the dynasty's 

^ An English translation of both documents was pubUshed by 
Mr. E. H. Parker in the Contemporary Review of January 1912. 

223 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

gradual decline in virility and statesmanship; endeav- 
ouring, by means of the documents at our disposal, to 
throw new light on the personal relations, human equa- 
tions and domestic affairs which affected the policies of 
China's rulers in the first instance, and eventually the 
destinies of the nation. 

But before concluding this review of the last years of 
the Ming dynasty, we would refer once again to the part 
which the superstitious belief of the Chinese in prophecies 
and omens has always played, and still plays, in every 
national crisis. A proverb or a prophecy, current in the 
market places and tea-shops of the provinces, carries far 
greater weight than Imperial edicts in determining the 
popular attitude in any great emergency. For this reason 
certain prophecies which foretold long ago, in language 
very similar to that of Old Moore, the collapse of the Ming 
dynasty and the destinies of the Manchus, have always 
stirred the popular imagination, and affected public 
opinion, to a degree which Europeans of the present day 
can hardly imagine. 

One of the most widely spread of these prophecies has 
long been known in China as " The Song of the Cakes." 
It is generally believed to have been composed by Chu 
Yiian-chang, the founder of the Ming dynasty, shortly 
after his accession to the Throne, and it is supposed 
to foretell the fate of the dynasty, the coming of the 
eight Manchu banners, and the final overthrow of the 
Manchu power. The last lines of this effusion run as 
follows : 

" Ten-mouthed women,^ with grass on their heads, once 
more carry a babe in their arms to be lord over the Empire. 

" The eight banner flags find it hard to escape from the 
Japanese devils. 

1 Ten-mouthed women : i. e.Yehonala — (meaning Tzii Hsi and Lung 
Yii). The first character of the name Yehonala has the sign for 
" grass " at the top, and below it the signs for " ten " and " a mouth." 

224 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" In the provinces of Hunan-Hupei, a wondrous being 
shall arise. 

" A red pear tree, with a round hole in the middle of 
its fruit, shall startle the slave-son's descendants. 

" A monkey shall stand in the central place and drive 
forth the little child. 

" A woman shall enter the room, bearing a son in her 
arms ; another woman shall leave the room, bearing a son 
in her arms. 

" The grandson's reign shall be brief. In the sky a 
yellow star shall shine." 

To understand the manner in which such prophecies 
appeal to the Chinese, scholars and common people alike, 
it is necessary to possess a knowledge of the written 
language, for all the hidden meanings of such utterances, 
actual or alleged, depend upon an ingenious and often 
far-fetched play upon words. The pundits, who claim 
that the above prophecy refers to the overthrow of the 
Manchus by the recent revolutionary movement, aver, 
for instance, that the " red pear tree with the round hole 
in the middle of the fruit," etc., can only refer to Li 
Yuan-hung, the present Vice-president of the Republic, 
because the " Li " in his name is identical in sound with 
the word " Li " for a pear, while Hung is " red " and 
Yuan is identical in sound with " round." And the 
slave-son is Nurhachi, because the first two Chinese 
characters in his name (nu erh) mean " slave-son." To 
Western minds this sort of thing may seem fantastic 
gibberish, but to the Chinese it is extraordinarily con- 
vincing. For a similar reason " a monkey " is Yuan Shih- 
k'ai ; the " driving out of the infant " refers to the Manchu 
abdication; the " grandson " is Sun Yat-sen, the " yellow 
star " is Huang Hsing, and " the woman leaving the room " 
is the Empress Lung Yii with the baby Hsiian T'ung, 
the woman entering the room being Shun Chili's mother.^ 
1 Cf. Dr. Arthur Smith't; Chinese Proverbs, new edition, p. 325. 
Q 225 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

The importance of prophecies Uke this Hes not in the 
interpretation which scholars or journaUsts may choose 
to give to them, but to the indisputable fact that the 
common people know and vaguely believe in them. If, 
on the authority of " The Song of the Cakes," the man in 
the street persuades himself that Huang Hsing's appearance 
on the scene is an event fraught with vast issues, that 
unscrupulous adventurer starts with an advantage which 
neither wealth nor personal merit could confer. Readers 
of China under the Empress Dowager may remember 
that Tzu Hsi herself often displayed superstition as gross 
as that of the commonest coolie in the land, and that many 
a vital step in her career was determined upon the advice 
of charlatan soothsayers and astrologers. In studying 
the Uves of China's rulers, whether Ming or Manchu, it is 
necessary to bear in mind this deep-rooted characteristic 
of the race. 



END OF PART I 



226 



PART II 
THE MANCHU DYNASTY 



CHAPTER IX 

THE EMPEROR SHUN CHIH 

There is comparatively little material in contemporary 
annals and memoirs which bears upon the life of the 
Sovereign and his Court during the first reign of the Manchu 
dynasty, that of the Emperor Shun Chih. The fact is 
readily explicable in several ways. In the first place, 
although the history of Shun Chih's reign covers a period 
of seventeen years from the date of his accession to the 
Throne of China, he was only twenty-three years of age 
when he passed from the scene. During the Regency of 
his uncle. Prince Jui, and until the latter's death in 
December 1650, the Lord of Heaven was only a little 
lad, interested in hunting and in hearing the day's news 
of the Manchu army's victorious progress through the 
central and southern provinces, carefully tended by his 
mother and the Imperial tutors. When, three months 
after the death of the Regent, he assumed nominal control 
of the business of the State, he was an intelligent youth of 
twelve, but the high spirits which had marked his child- 
hood had already given place to the contemplative and 
serious temperament which became intensified with each 
succeeding year. One of his first edicts, after assuming 
the actual direction of the Government, prescribed certain 
regulations for controlling admission to the priesthood and 
supervising the training of candidates. He concerned 
himself actively, too, with public education and the 
revision of the system of examinations for degrees. The 

229 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Court was eminently respectable, and perhaps even a little 
dull, under the first of the Manchus, but no doubt the 
citizens of Peking were glad enough to be rid of the wild 
extravagance and debauches which had disgraced it under 
the Mings. 

An essay, published since the abdication of the Manchu 
dynasty by a Chinese historical writer who signs himself 
" Born out of time," sets out to prove that Shun Chih 
was illegitimate, and that the rulers of the House of Gioro, 
beginning with Shun Chih and ending with Kuang Hsii, 
had no better claim to pure blood than those of the House 
of Romanov. He asserts that the father of Shun Chih 
was not the Emperor T'ai Tsung, but a Chinese hunter, 
named Wang. The evidence with which he supports 
this statement can scarcely be called even circumstantial. 
The writings of " Born out of time " prove him to be one 
of those typical products of Young China, in whom self- 
interest and an emotional kind of patriotism combine to 
produce a blind hatred of the Manchus. His work is marked 
by the same quality of reckless vituperation as that of 
Wen Ch'ing and K'ang Yu-wei, and contains more evidence 
of constructive memory than of historical research. Never- 
theless, the fact is important that many Chinese Avrite 
and many more believe, fantastic legends of the kind upon 
Avhich " Born out of time " bases his assertion that the 
Emperors Shun Chih, Yung Cheng, Ch'ien Lung and 
Kuang Hsii were all illegitimate, and born of Chinese 
fathers. We reproduce his account of the birth of Shun 
Chih not, as the Imperial edicts say, "for purposes of 
historical accuracy," but as an illustration of Young 
China's historical methods. 

" Shortly after the capture of Moukden by the Manchus," 
he says, " there arrived in the thinly populated district 
of Fu Chou a family of settlers named Wang, driven from 
their native province of Shantung by poverty. Their 
son Wang Kao became a mighty hunter. One day, in 

280 




>< >4 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

1637, the Lady Borjikitu, a favourite concubine of T'ai 
Tsung, was with her maids in the forest, hunting the 
stag; hke most Mongol women, she was an expert horse- 
woman and huntress. She had shot three times at a 
magnificent stag and missed, when Wang Kao appeared 
upon the scene, and with him a comrade called Teng, 
nicknamed the ' large- thighed.' The deer rushed 
through the forest straight towards Wang, who promptly- 
shot it dead. When Lady Borjikitu reached the spot 
she was greatly impressed by Wang's fine figure and 
pleasing features and, after asking him a few questions 
as to his origin, engaged both him and ' Large-thighed ' 
Teng, and took them back with her to Moukden, appoint- 
ing them to her special bodyguard. Thereafter Wang 
was her constant attendant on hunting expeditions. 
Soon an intimacy sprang up between them, and when 
in March of the following year she gave birth to Fulin 
(who reigned later as Shun Chih) most people believed 
that Wang was the father. Shun Chih was an exception- 
ally robust youngster, and could lift heavy weights when 
only four years old. T'ai Tsung, well aware of his origin, 
had Teng assassinated for fear of his betraying the secret. 
He was murdered by hired bravos on the road leading 
out of Moukden towards Liao yang. To this day there 
is a popular phrase in Moukden which refers to the murder 
of Teng. They say to ' send Large-thighed Teng about 
his business,' meaning to get rid of any kind of incubus 
by giving it the ' happy dispatch.' A little later Wang 
Kao himself was assassinated by T'ai Tsung' s order, and 
legend avers that his ghost walked in the Moukden Palace 
until appeased by the young Prince Fulin kneeling before 
his coffin and acknowledging him as his father. After 
this filial recognition, they say, T'ai Tsung was troubled 
no more. He gave orders for Wang Kao's burial in the 
family mausoleum of Nurhachi, and the saying goes that 
he is included to this day among the family heroes 

231 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

worshipped in the Manchu dynasty's private ^ shrine at 
Peking, where the Emperor used to make obeisance on 
the morning of the second day of the year. Common 
rumour also alleges that on the occasion of Imperial 
visits to the Moukden mausolea, where Nurhachi and his 
son are buried, a special sacrifice has always been offered 
to the memory of Wang Kao. An adage in Moukden 
itself says : ' The Emperor first pays obeisance to Wang 
Kao and then to the Imperial tombs.' On the Long 
White Mountain there is a memorial tablet recounting 
Wang's history, though naturally it contains no reference 
to his relations with the proud house of Gioro." 

So much for the latest annalists. Nevertheless, the 
fact remains that there is nothing in contemporary history 
or literature which gives colour to these attempts to 
besmirch the founders of the dynasty, and that the 
reign of Shun Chih himself was singularly free from all 
sorts of chroniques scandaleuses and evil report. 

The personal character of the Emperor and his youth 
go far to account for the absence of scandal and intrigue 
at Peking during the reign of Shun Chih, but the factor 
which undoubtedly contributed more than all others to 
give the Court its happy immunity from treasons, strata- 
gems and spoils, lay in the relegation of the Palace eunuchs 
to their proper position as menials, and in the dynastic 
house-laws, instituted by the Regent shortly after the 
Manchu accession, which sternly forbade their employ- 
ment in any official capacity. After the fall of Peking, 
many of the " rats and foxes " who had debauched and 
degraded the Court of the Mings, and battened on the 
vices of the licentious Clansmen, had either fled to their 
homes at Ho Chien-fu, or had followed the fortunes 
of the Chinese dynasty to Nanking and further South. 
Those who remained, to take service under the new 

^ The site of the shrine has been occupied since 1900 by the Italian 
Legation. 

232 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

rigime, found their influence and their perquisites lament- 
ably reduced; and with them vanished the intrigues 
and the insolences which had distinguished the followers 
of Wei Chung-hsien. For a breathing space the For- 
bidden City was cleansed of its chief source of evil. 

The Regent, Prince Jui, fourteenth son of Nurhachi, 
died, as we have shown, in December 1650, killed, near 
Kalgan, by an accident whilst engaged in his favourite 
sport of hunting, at the early age of thirty-nine. The bo}'^ 
Emperor was sincerely grieved at the loss of his uncle, 
who for seven years had been the guiding spirit in the 
counsels of the Manchus. He issued an edict, in which 
the many virtues of the deceased were eloquently re- 
corded, and went out to meet the body when it was 
brought back to Peking. But no sooner was the masterful 
Prince dead, than certain of the Manchu Princes and 
nobles, who had always been opposed to his usurpation 
of the Regency, denounced him on charges amounting 
to high treason, and demanded the rescindment of the 
posthumous honours conferred upon him by the Throne. 
They accused him, not only of having habitually assumed 
Imperial prerogatives, but of having plotted with his 
immediate followers to depose his nephew-ward and 
to seize the Throne for himself. Later on, further accusa- 
tions were brought against him; he was charged with 
having appropriated rich jewels belonging to the Throne, 
and it was said that a certain necklace which had belonged 
to Nurhachi had been buried with him, by his orders. 
Upon formal investigation these grave charges proved 
to be substantially true, and the young Emperor was 
compelled, much to his regret, to record a solemn decree 
of censure and degradation against his illustrious relative. 
The name of Prince Jui and that of his mother, the Concu- 
bine Wala-nala, were removed from the roll of the Imperial 
clans, and all their titles and dignities were posthumously 
cancelled. Thus early came the canker of personal 

233 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

ambition to breed disruption in the fine flower of the 
Manchu aristocracy. The disgrace that fell upon the 
Regent's memory was keenly felt, not only by his con- 
temporaries, but by the descendants of Nurhachi, so much 
so, that more than a hundred years afterwards we find 
the Emperor Ch'ien Lung taking steps to restore Prince 
Jui's name and fame. In the forty-third year of his 
reign (1778) this Monarch issued an edict intended "to 
attain historical accuracy," much in the same way as 
the great Tzii Hsi attained it, by retrospectively cancelling 
all her Boxer edicts, in February 1901. Ch'ien Lung 
came to the conclusion, after carefully considering the 
case, that Prince Jui had been unjustly accused, and he 
therefore made full restitution of his honours and dignities, 
restored his tablet to its place in the temple of ancestors 
and re-established the Princedom of Jui in the person of 
Ch'un Ying, his descendant in the fifth generation. This 
princedom is now the second in rank of the hereditary nobles . ^ 
Shun Chih was married at the age of fifteen to the 
Empress Tung Chia, mother of K'ang Hsi, who died two 
years after her son's accession. Of this lady's virtues 
or failings the chroniclers record little that is of interest. 
This may be due to the fact that, during the few years 
of the Sovereign's. married life, he was completely under 
the influence of his favourite concubine, the Lady Tung, 
a woman who seems to have combined unusual physical 
attractions with literary accomplishments of a high 
order and a very masterful disposition. A Chinese 
commentator goes so far as to describe her as meddlesome 
(which he considers a peculiarly feminine failing), and 
declares that she was wont to admonish the whole Court 
on festive occasions to spare the drink, to dine wisely 
and not too well. She considered it her duty to keep 

^ The present holder of the title is a typically degenerate specimen 
of the latter day Manchu aristocracy, whose opium-smoking pro- 
clivities recently formed the subject of official investigation. 

234 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the Emperor up to the mark in his pubhc and private 
life; she insisted upon his reading the whole text of 
routine business memorials without skipping, and the 
Emperor himself recorded (in an epitaph which partakes 
of the nature of a full obituary notice) that she was 
accustomed, before retiring for the night, to see for 
herself that the Imperial bedchamber was not overheated. 
The Lady Tung was evidently good, and she died 
young, in the autumn of 1661. Her death affected Shun 
Chih with uncontrollable grief, from which he never 
recovered. The chronicler above mentioned naively re- 
marks that His Majesty's regret for her loss seems to 
have been perfectly genuine, whereby he is greatly dis- 
tinguished amongst Imperial husbands, " who generally 
rejoice at the death of their consorts." In the epitaph 
to which we have referred, Shun Chih indicates the 
breadth and depth of his lady's virtue by citing the fact 
that she invariably declined his invitations to supper, but 
would urge him to allow his chief Ministers to join him 
at the table ; a statement which tends to show that the 
Court etiquette of the Manchus in those days was far 
less strict than it became at a later period, when they had 
assimilated the punctilious formalities of the classical 
Chinese code of manners. 

According to the official annals of the dynasty. Shun 
Chih died and was buried in the winter of 1661, that is 
to say, only a few months before the last of the Mings 
was bowstringed at Yiinnan-fu. The Lady Tung had 
" gone before " in the autumn of that year. But there 
appears to be good reason for doubting the dynastic 
annals in this matter of his death, and for sharing the 
belief, widely held by Chinese scholars, that the young 
Emperor, pining for his lost mistress and weary of the 
dull routine of statecraft, voluntarily handed over the 
Government to four of his Ministers (acting as joint 
Regents for his youthful son, K'ang Hsi) and retired to 

235 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

the contemplative life of the priesthood. This story, 
naturally enough, is not to be found in the dynastic 
records, since the priesthood is held in little reverence 
by the literati, and its admission would have cast a slur 
on the Emperor and the Imperial Clan ; but the circum- 
stantial evidence which supports it, in the writings of 
contemporary poets and others, is very strong. One, 
who is frequently quoted, wrote, " He threw away the 
Empire as one who casts away a worn-out shoe; he 
rejected the sovereignty thrust upon him in this incarna- 
tion, and, following the example of the Lord Buddha, 
preferred to seek the mystic solitudes." There is no 
doubt that the Emperor became imbued in his early 
youth with strong leanings towards the Buddhistic ideal 
of renunciation, and that he is known to have written, 
amongst other things, the following antithetical couplets : 
" The future is as dark to me as the past out of which 
I have come; 

" Vainly have I lived through one existence in this 
world of men; 

" I have yearned to become a devoted follower of the 
Lord Buddha; 

" Why, then, do I still hanker after the vanities of 
the Imperial Throne ? " 

It is also recorded that, shortly before his disappearance 
from the scene, he told Ao Pai, one of the four Ministers 
subsequently appointed to act as Regents for his successor, 
that he hoped to kneel amongst the crowd which should 
witness the ceremonial procession of the new Emperor, 
his son ; much in the same way that Alexander I of Russia 
told his sister-in-law, the wife of his successor, Nicholas I, 
that he hoped, after his abdication and taking of religious 
vows, to witness their coronation procession in Moscow.^ 

^ Vide The Legend concerning the decease of Alexander I, in Siberia, 
in the guise of the monk Theodore. By the Grand Duke Nicholas. 
(Petersburg, 1907.) 

236 



I 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

It is certainly the common belief amongst Chinese 
students of history that the Emperor Shun Chih did 
not die in 1661, as the annals have it, but that he arranged 
with his Ministers that he should vacate the Throne 
and conceal his identity in that of the Abbot of the T'ien 
T'ai temple, which lies amongst the hills, fourteen miles 
to the west of Peking. It was said by contemporary 
writers that the Abbot bore an extraordinary resemblance 
to the Emperor, and to this day the temple contains a 
life-sized gilt mummy statue of a priest, some thirty years 
of age, whose features are unmistakably of the Manchu 
type. 

The illustration on the opposite page is from a photo- 
graph of this statue. It differs from the ordinary 
mummies of Buddhist bonzes in that it is clad in yellow 
Dragon robes instead of the usual red Kachaya vestments. 
It is alleged by tradition that the Dragon robes were sent 
by K'ang Hsi. The priests of the shrine also show the 
large vat in which the body was dried. The features of 
this mummy are covered with dark brown lacquer, 
whereas the usual procedure is to gild them. Finally, 
tradition declares that the Emperor K'ang Hsi visited 
the temple on three occasions, and paid his respects 
to the Abbot, who did not kneel to the Sovereign as 
custom would have required in the case of an ordinary 
priest. When, in 1670, the Abbot passed away, K'ang 
Hsi had a life-sized presentment of him cast in bronze, 
and sent presents of pearls and jewels to be buried in 
his tomb. 

The stone dagoba under which he is said to lie is still 
standing, and every year the temple is opened to the 
faithful, who come to prostrate themselves at the shrine 
in the full belief that here a Lord of Heaven lies buried. 
Those who have compared the image of the Abbot of 
T'ien T'ai-ssii with the picture of Shun Chih in the collec- 
tion of dynastic portraits in the Hall of Imperial Longevity 

237 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

(which adjoins the Coal Hill of the Forbidden City) have 
testified to the remarkable resemblance. 

But whether he departed this life or not Shun Chih 
vacated the Throne at the age of twenty- three, leaving 
his son, a boy of seven, to the care of four of his 
Ministers. This child was destined to reign over China 
for sixty-one years, and to confer enduring fame on the 
Manchu dynasty. 



238 



CHAPTER X 

K'ANG HSI AS A FATHER 

The character of this famous Emperor, his wise govern- 
ment, his prowess in war and sport, his deep learning, 
multitudinous paternity and kind heart, all these have 
been described in the works of the Jesuit fathers, who 
until towards the end of his reign, held positions of dignity 
and influence at the Court of Peking. Naturally enough, 
many of these descriptions suffer from the theological 
bias of class, but, generally speaking, they are the work 
of broad-minded and sympathetic men, and show the 
Emperor K'ang Hsi in a kindlier light than that which 
usually beats upon a Throne. Indeed, kindness of heart 
seems to have been his most prominent quality, combined 
with a very clear perception of the truth that China's 
ruler must be firm. From the account of five voyages 
into Tartary,^ on which the French Jesuit Gerbillon 
(mandarin of the third class) travelled in the suite of the 
Emperor between the years 1691 and 1697, the student 
of history may gather much to explain the revival of art 
and literature which distinguished this period, and learn 
to admire, at close range, the character of a Monarch 
truly great. Jean Frangois Gerbillon, mathematician and 
writer, shared with the Portuguese, Anthoine Pereira, a 
degree of Imperial favour as high as that which His 
Majesty had previously given to Verbiest, the astronomer 

^ See Histoire Generale de la Chine, par le Pere Mailla dc la Societe 
de Jesus, Vol. XI. (Paris, 1780.) 

239 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

and reviser of the calendar. In 1693, they had introduced 
quinine to the notice of the Court physicians, when K'ang 
Hsi was dangerously ill of a fever, and he had shown his 
gratitude by granting them permission and money to 
build a church, and had given them a house inside the 
Palace enclosure. Even before this, however, greatly 
impressed by the virtue and learning of priests like 
Philippe Grimaldi, Jean de Fontaney, Joachim Bouvet, 
Louis le Comte and Claude de Visdelon, he had issued his 
famous Edict of Toleration (1692), which gave so great an 
impetus to the spread of Christianity in China, until the 
internal dissensions between the Jesuits and Dominicans 
led him to rescind it and to withdraw his favour from the 
missionaries. 

The efforts of the Jesuits to convert K'ang Hsi and the 
Heir Apparent were discreet but unceasing. They en- 
deavoured to convince him and to win him to the true 
faith by appeals to his intelligence, by continual demonstra- 
tion of the Europeans' superiority in the arts and sciences ; 
and for a time it seemed as if they might eventually be 
successful. In 1693, we find Father Fontaney sending a 
letter to his Abbe by the hand of Father Bouvet, in which 
he describes K'ang Hsi as " ce merveilleux Prince, a qui 
rien ne manque que d'etre Chretien pour etre un des plus 
accomplis monarques de la terre." ^ He adds the follow- 
ing significant reference to the Heir Apparent : " Le 
Prince Heritier, que nous appelons ici Hoang-Tai-Tie, 
age de 21 ans, nous a marque aussi qu'il desiroit quelque 
bel horloge de France,^ qui sonne les heures et les quarts. 

^ Lettres sur les Progres de la Religion a la Chine. (Paris, 1698.) 
2 Many clocks, watches and musical-boxes of French manufacture, 
decorated with ormulu and Limoges enamel, found their way to 
Peking in the seventeenth century, after the first specimens had been 
presented to the Throne and Court by the Jesuit fathers. Many of 
them were brought back to Europe, after the looting of the Summer 
Palace by the British and French armies in 1860, and more again after 
the looting of the city in 1900. 

240 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Ce Prince regnera un jour, et il est deja bien intentionne 
pour nous; et il est important de le gagner tout a fait." 

News of this kind, sent to Europe from the Court of 
Peking, was Hkely to create hopes of the ultimate con- 
version of the Emperor and his heir, and rumours to that 
effect were widely circulated shortly after the issue of the 
Edict of Toleration. In 1697, however, a letter from 
Peking ^ expresses doubts on this subject : " Je ne S9ay 
si le bruit de la conversion de I'Empereur de la Chine au 
Christianisme, qui se repandit il y a quelque temps, 
parvint jusqu'a vous, mais je S9ay bien que je ne voulus 
pas vous en ecrire parce que je n'en etois pas fort per- 
suade." Other letters, written in 1695, had announced 
the conversion and baptism of a Prince at the Court, 
" whose mother was a sister of the late Empress," and 
again of another Prince, aged thirteen. But the Imperial 
author of the " Sacred Edict," for all his tolerant goodwill 
towards them, was not likely to take anything from the 
Christian missionaries which could shake his own implicit 
faith in the Canons of the Sages. His subsequent perse- 
cution of Christianity in China was directly due to the 
excessive zeal of the Jesuit fathers, who presumed upon 
the place they had won in the confidence of this liberal- 
minded Emperor. 

With the history of K'ang Hsi's wars, of the revival 
of literature and learning under his direction, and the 
political relations of China with her neighbours and vassals 
during his long reign, the present work does not profess 
to deal. We have referred to the writings and other 
activities of the Jesuit fathers at Peking for the reason 
that students of history will find in them much that is of 
interest and importance. 

For five years after his succession to the Throne, in 
1662, the lad K'ang Hsi was under the charge of the Board 

^ Quatrieme lettre historique de Hollande, imprimee a la Haye au 
mois Fevrier de I'annee 1697. 

B 241 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

of Regents appointed by his father to administer the 
Government, but from the outset he was influenced 
against them (and particularly against Duke Ao Pai, the 
most masterful of the four) by his grandmother, the 
strong-minded Mongol Empress of T'ai Tsung, and by Shun 
Chih's Empress, Borjikin. The Regents also incurred his 
youthful displeasure by their harsh treatment of the 
Roman Catholic fathers, — ^towards whom Shun Chih had 
shown himself well and kindly disposed — and particularly 
by their imprisonment of Adam Schaal, who had been 
appointed special tutor to K'ang Hsi. It was largely 
because of this persecution of the worthy Father Adam ^ 
and other Christians that, in 1667, the young Monarch, 
aided and abetted by his grandmother and the moral 
support of his Court, dismissed the Regents and assumed 
control of the Government at the age of thirteen. 

It is interesting, at this point, to observe that the whole 
history of the Manchu dynasty illustrates the quality 
which Mill has described as peculiarly characteristic of 
Orientals, the quality of inveterate jealousy, which 
successive Emperors and their advisers displayed towards 
high officials who had attained to influence in the councils 
of their predecessors. Thus, in Shun Chih's reign, we 
have the posthumous deposition of the Regent, Prince 
Jui; K'ang Hsi dismisses his Board of Regents; Chia 
Ch'ing orders the death of his father's chief favourite; 
Tao Kuang dismisses his father's all-powerful eunuch; 
Hsien Feng orders Mu Yang-a into retirement; T'ung 
Chih (under the influence of Tzu Hsi) rids himself of the 
usurping Regents; and finally, to come to our own day, 
the Empress Lung Yii, in the name of His Majesty Hsiian 
T'ung, dismisses Yiian Shih-k'ai. 

To return to K'ang Hsi. After his assumption of the 
Government, the Regents, who retained office as Ministers, 

^ Vide Du Halde, Description de V Empire de la Chine et de la Tartare 
Chinoise, 1735, Vol. IV, p. 286. 

242 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

continued for some time to be a thorn in his side; the 
Duke Ao Pai, in particular, treating him with studied 
arrogance, which his proud spirit could ill brook. But 
the ex-Regents commanded a powerful following, and 
the old Empress Dowager therefore advised the young 
Monarch to go warily. The following account of the way 
in which these Ministers were finally removed, is interesting, 
if only because it reveals in the aged consort of T'ai Tsung 
the naive credulity and superstition which, to the end, 
remained characteristic of the notable women of the 
dynasty. 

On New Year's DayLjL669, the Duke Ao Pai appeared 
as usual, at the head oTThe Court, to offer the season's 
congratulations. He wore an Imperial state-robe, the 
only difference between his attire and that of the Sovereign 
being that, instead of the great Imperial pearl, which tha 
Emperor wore on the front of his official hat, he contented 
himself with a knot of red velvet. K'ang Hsi made no 
comment at the time, but on returning to his private 
apartments asked his grandmother to advise him by 
what means they could get rid of the haughty Minister.; 
At that moment the old lady's favourite eunuch was byi 
her side, throwing dice out of a cup for luck. In throwing 
Chinese dice, of which there are usually six, the best throw 
occurs when the six different numbers all turn up. K'ang 
Hsi seized the cup, paused an instant as if invoking super- 
natural aid, and made a cast. The numbers came out 
all different, whereupon the Empress Grand Dowager, 
delighted, exclaimed : " You need not be afraid of him 
any longer " (referring to Ao Pai). A few days later, a 
decree was issued by the Emperor dismissing the ex- 
Regents from their offices, and inviting his Princes and 
Ministers to consider their offences and advise as to the 
proper penalty. They recommended that Ao Pai should 
be sentenced to the lingering death, but as the Empress 
Grand Dowager did not consider it expedient to take 

243 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

such extreme measures, the sentence was commuted to 
permission to commit suicide and the forfeiture of his 
estates and titles, except the hereditary dukedom. Before 
the sentence could be carried out, a Buku (palace wrestler), 
strangled him in prison. 

In commemoration of this happy release, K'ang Hsi 
subsequently issued a decree establishing as a house-law, 
to be observed by his posterity, that, on every New Year's 
Day, the Emperor should throw the dice, to learn the 
omens for the coming year. And so, until the abdication 
of the dynasty, it was done; but, like all good uses, it 
became corrupted in later years at the hands of the 
eunuchs. On New Year's Day, after the Court had done 
obeisance and the Emperor had retired to his apartments, 
it was the invariable custom for the Chief Eunuch to hand 
him a golden plate with six dice on it. The eunuch would 
kneel while the Emperor cast the dice. Invariably they 
turned up all different, and the eunuch, congratulating 
the Sovereign on the continued favour of Heaven, would 
then hurriedly remove them. But Heaven had nothing 
to say to this invariably auspicious result, because these 
Imperial dice were carefully made, so as to ensure favour- 
able omens, with a different number, and one only, on 
each.^ 

Concerning Ao Pai, the chroniclers also aver that a 

week before his dismissal, he had applied for sick leave, 

and the Emperor went to pay him a visit. He found him 

lying on the stove-bed, covered with a sable robe. While 

K'ang Hsi was talking to him, one of the suite suddenly 

drew the sable robe slightly aside, and a dagger was dis- 

1 In the record of Father Gerbillon's first journey in the suite of 
K'ang Hsi to Tartary (1691), he states that the Emperor (then thirty- 
seven years of age), discussing with him affairs connected with the 
Board of Astronomy, expressed the utmost contempt for those who 
superstitiously beheved in good and evil hours and auspicious days. 
Not only did he regard these beliefs as false and vain, but he held that 
they did great injury to the State, when the rulers of the country are 
obsessed by them. 

244 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

covered. It is treason for a subject to have arms on his 
person in the presence of the Emperor, but K'ang Hsi only 
smiled at the sight and said : " Ao Pai is indeed a true 
Manchu warrior ; he keeps his weapon ready by his side, 
even when on a bed of sickness, that he may rise at any 
moment to defend his Emperor." From these words the 
courtiers knew that the days of Ao Pai's power were 
numbered. 

ToAvards the end of his long reign, K'ang Hsi's life was 
made a burden to him and his health undermined by the 
undutiful and lawless conduct of several of his sons. He 
was a great ruler and a wise man, but he resembled many 
other great men in the history of the East, from Solomon 
down to the statesmen and scholars of to-day, in that his 
philosophy was not proof against the vicissitudes of 
polygamy and the penalties of excessive paternity. His 
sons, like the sons of Eli, dealt evilly with the people, and 
brought their father's grey hairs in sorrow to the grave, 
a result by no means uncommon under China's patriarchal 
system. K'ang Hsi's edicts and exhortations concerning 
his domestic broils reveal the fact that, firmly convinced 
of his own virtues and intelligence, he took pride in his 
procreative capacity, and hoped to confer on his dynasty 
and on China an abundant posterity, imbued with his own 
moral and intellectual qualities. In this, he was grievously 
disappointed, and the incessant broils created by his sons 
when they had reached years of discretion embittered his 
declining years and dimmed the prestige of his reign. 

K'ang Hsi had thirty-five sons; of these twenty-four 
attained to manhood. The following is a list of those who 
by good or evil report, figured prominently in the annals 
of his reign and that of his successor, Yung Cheng : 

*Yun Ch'ih : born in 1672, son of the concubine Hui, who 
was of rank too low to permit of her offspring being 

245 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

eligible to the Throne. He was created Prince Chih 
(Upright), and was cashiered and confined to his 
residence in 1708. Obiit 1734. 
YUn Jeng : Prince Li (Principled), son of the senior 
Empress Consort Hoshli, who died in 1674. He was 
made Heir Apparent when two years old; deprived 
of his title and confined to one of the palaces in the 
rear of the Coal Hill in October 1708, reinstated in 
April 1709, again degraded and imprisoned in October 
1712. Died in prison in the second year of Yung 
Cheng's reign, 1725. 

*Ylin Chih : Prince Ch'eng (Sincere). Born in 1677, 
imprisoned by his brother Yung Cheng in 1730 at the 
Coal Hill, and poisoned (officially stated to have died 
of a sudden disease) in July 1732. 
Yin Chen : created Prince Yung (Just), succeeded his 
father as Emperor Yung Cheng. Born 1678, died 
1735. 
Yun CWi : Prince Heng (Steadfast), born 1680, died 1732. 
Yun Yu : Prince Shun (Pure), born 1680, died 1730. 

"^YiXn Ssii : Prince Lien (Conscientious), usually called 
the eighth Prince. Born of " a woman of poor origin, 
named Hinyeku," in 1681, deprived of his title and 
imprisoned by Yung Cheng in 1726. Expelled from 
the Imperial Clan and given the opprobrious title 
of " That unspeakable person." Died (poisoned) 
six months later. Posthumously restored to the 
Imperial Clan in 1778 by the Emperor Ch'ien 
Lung. 

*YiXn T^ang : born in 1680, deprived of his title and name 
erased from the Imperial Clan in June 1726. Given 
the name of " Black-hearted Monster." His death 
(in prison at Pao Ting-fu in September 1726) 
occurred within a few days of that of the eighth 
Prince, Yiin Ssu. 

*Yun : born in 1683, given the title of Prince Tun 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

(Solid) in 1709; imprisoned by his brother Yung 

Cheng in 1726 ; set free by Ch'ien Lung. 
Yun T'ao : Prince " Walking in Righteousness," born 

1685, died 1763. 
Yiln Hsiang : Prince Yi (Harmonious), born 1686, died 

1730. Ancestor of Tsai Yuan, the usurping Regent 

of T'ung Chih's reign. 
Yun Ti : Prince Trustworthy, born in 1688, imprisoned 

in 1726 in a side court of the Palace of Imperial 

Longevity, where his father's coffin had reposed. 

Restored to liberty by Ch'ien Lung. 
Yun Lu : Prince Chuang (Sedate), born in 1695. K'ang 

Hsi's favourite son; a friend of the Jesuit fathers 

and a good astronomer and mathematician. Died 

in 1767. 

Of these the five marked (*) conspired to have the Heir 
Apparent, Yiin Jeng, put aside and to set Yiin Ssii on the 
Throne. The latter was undoubtedly an able man, but 
became an object of suspicion at Court, owing to the 
general belief that he had become a Christian. K'ang 
Hsi had originally been very well disposed towards the 
Roman Catholics, but, weary of their disputes, turned 
against them in later years and opposed his sons' intimacy 
with the Jesuit fathers. The objections of the five Princes 
to the Heir Apparent were not entirely unreasonable 
(though their methods were unfilial), as Yiin Jeng was 
certainly possessed of an evil spirit. 

In the autumn of 1708, K'ang Hsi went on a hunting 
trip to the country around Jehol. He was sick at heart, 
for the unseemly conduct of his sons had latterly given 
extreme offence to the Ministers of his Court. News of 
their continued misdeeds reached the Emperor at his 
hunting, whereupon he addressed his Court Chamberlain 
as follows : "I hear that my sons frequently assault and 
insult the Mmisters of my Court and the Imperial body- 

247 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

guard, besides picking quarrels with other Princes of my 
house and ill-treating them. Now I wish it to be clearly- 
understood that my sons are only authorised to inflict 
summary chastisement on their own servants; in all 
other cases they are bound to report to me and await my 
decision. How can they be permitted to run riot and flog 
whomsoever they please ? I am the lord of the world, 
and I myself conform in all things to correct principles. 
Every innocent man is by right exempt from punishment. 
There can only be one Head of the State, and my daily 
prayer is to secure universal happiness and peace. The 
rule which forbids summary decapitation or strangling, 
without due reference to me, by nobles or high officials, 
was framed in the interests of the State, and not solely 
for the protection of the individual. It is an insult to 
my dignity that my sons should treat officials, high and 
low, with outrageous contumely, and these practices 
must be stopped. If they break the law of the land by 
abusing their power and putting my officials in terror of 
their lives, they are guilty of usurping Imperial pre- 
rogatives, which belong to me alone. Are they not 
aware that sovereign authority cannot be delegated to 
another ? There is but one ruler — myself. Not even my 
brothers, the Princes Yii and Kung, would venture to 
take such a liberty as to flog my Ministers and members 
of my bodyguard ! However guilty any of these might 
have been, I would never have allowed my brothers 
to take the law into their own hands and to put my 
officials to death. In any case, however, they never 
perpetrated any such offences, and my sons cannot be 
allowed to commit them. 

" The founder of my dynasty and his son issued wise 
precepts concerning these matters, expressly forbidding 
that the Princes of the Imperial house should scourge or 
maltreat their inferiors, and I never could have believed 
that such unlawful practices would sully my reign. If, 

248 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

in future, my sons disregard my injunctions and flog or 
insult any Minister of the Court, the injured parties are 
hereby specially enjoined to report the facts to me with 
full details. I shall not fail to hear the case and to give 
impartial judgment, without visiting any punishment 
on the plaintiff. If things continue in their present 
course, the next thing will be massacres perpetrated 
without my knowledge. If this my mandate be not 
transmitted verbatim I shall order the decapitation of 
those responsible for its due transmission." 

A few days later, at Bur-hastai, the Emperor bade the 
Court assemble and order the Heir Apparent (Yun Jeng) 
to kneel before him. With tears in his eyes he addressed 
him as follows : " It is now forty-eight years since I 
received the Great Inheritance ; during the whole of that 
time I have aspired to rule over a contented people 
with compassionate affection. But my son, Yiin Jeng, 
constantly violates the ancestral precepts and my own 
admonitions. His wanton cruelty and vindictive oppres- 
sion have been allowed to continue unreproved, and I 
have borne with him for the past twenty years. His 
wickedness has waxed more and more flagrant; he has 
insulted or beaten the Princes and Ministers of the Court ; 
he has presumed on his position to collect a lawless band 
around him for the purpose of keeping watch on my 
movements and of reporting to him my every action.^ 

" As I see it, the Empire can only have one ruler; by 
what right, then, does Yiin Jeng ill-treat and beat my 
Princes and Ministers ? Prince P'ing and the Beileh Hai- 
shan have both been flogged by his orders, and few of my 
officials, few even of my bodyguard and personal servants, 
have escaped his wrath. 

" I am fully aware of all that has been going on. If 
any official reports his conduct to me, Yiin Jeng regards 
him as a mortal enemy and treats him with cruel vindic- 
* K'ang Hsi suspected his son of a design to assassinate him. 

249 



ANNAIvS AND MEMOIRS OF 

tiveness. Knowing this, I have refrained from making 
inquiries from my Court as to his behaviour. In the 
course of my numerous journeys in the provinces of the 
Empire, by road or river, I myself have never transgressed 
the path of decorum by a single step, nor injured any of 
my subjects. But Yiin Jeng and his band of ruffians 
stop at nothing; they violate every right principle. His 
behaviour makes me blush; I am ashamed to speak of 
it. When the Mongol Princes sent tribute horses to me 
as a present, Yiin Jeng dispatched his servants to seize 
them on the road to Peking, and kept them for his own 
use. The Mongols naturally resented this and they 
blamed me. 

" His misdeeds are innumerable, but I have kept on 
hoping that he would repent him of his errors and return 
to the right way. So I have borne with him in silence 
and shown foolish leniency until to-day. I was well 
aware long ago of Yiin Jeng's extravagant habits and, 
with the object of meeting his exorbitant requirements, 
I made his foster-mother's husband. Ling P'u, Comp- 
troller of the Imperial Household, so as to give him every 
opportunity. To my amazement, I find that Ling P'u 
is even more corrupt and greedy than Yiin Jeng, and the 
consequence is that the retainers of my household all hate 
him. When Yiin Jeng was a child, I used to teach him 
that the needs of my privy purse are provided out of the 
people's life-blood, and that wise economy was essential 
to good government. But he has disregarded my teaching, 
and has given the rein to his shameless extravagance and 
savage violence. If he continues in this way he will surely 
end by killing off all his brothers. 

" A few days ago, when my eighteenth son was mortally 
sick, every one sympathised with me in this grief, afflicting 
my old age. But Yiin Jeng was quite callously indifferent 
to his brother's fate and, when I reproved him, had the 
audacity to lose his temper. Stranger still, his foster- 

250 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

mother incited him to tear a hole in the cloth of the 
travelling pavilion in which I had retired for the night, 
and to peep through at me with insolent scrutiny. 

" On a previous occasion So-e-tu aided and abetted him 
in a conspiracy against my life. I discovered the plot 
and put So-e-tu to death. In revenge for this, Yiin Jeng 
has now collected a band of desperate villains, planning 
to put an end to me. At times they seek to poison my 
food, and again they plot to assassinate me. I have to 
be perpetually on guard and never enjoy a peaceful 
moment. 

" How can I permit such a man to succeed to the august 
Inheritance? Let us not forget also that Yiin Jeng's 
mother, the late Empress, died in giving birth to him. 
The ancients always regarded such conduct as unfilial. 
Ever since my accession I have practised scrupulous 
parsimony; my bed quilt is shabby and my hose are 
made of commonest cloth. Yiin Jeng's household is on 
a scale infinitely grander than mine. Yet still he is not 
satisfied and must needs appropriate money from the 
Imperial Treasury, besides interfering in State affairs. 
Unless prompt measures are taken, the result will be disaster 
to the State and ruin to my subjects. If I allow so unfilial 
a son and so evil a man to become Emperor, how shall I 
face my ancestors, and how will it fare with their heritage ? " 

At this point the Emperor paused and burst into a 
paroxysm of noisy sobbing. He collapsed and grovelled 
on the ground, from which undignified posture he was 
raised by his Ministers. 

With an effort he proceeded : "I cannot allow such a 
man to succeed to the inheritance won by my ancestors 
and consolidated by myself. On my return to Peking I 
shall announce my decision to the Almighty and the spirits 
of my ancestors, and inform them of Yiin Jeng's deposition. 

" On a previous occasion I bade my eldest son, Yiin 
Ch'ih, to give good heed to my personal safety, but I 

251 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

never contemplated making him Heir Apparent. He is 
quite impossible, being of excitable temperament and 
obstinate in the extreme. 

" I shall inflict no punishment on such of Yiin's Jeng's 
followers as were forced through fear into joining him. 
I hereby order the immediate decapitation of So-e-tu's 
sons and of Erh-ko-su-erh and Te-ha-shih-t'ai. This 
matter vitally concerns the whole Empire. I have taken 
care to deal with it while still in the enjoyment of good 
health and in the possession of all my faculties. Yiin 
Jeng is to be placed under arrest at once, and the Princes, 
Ministers and common people are all at liberty to memorial- 
ise me on the subject, giving their views as to the justice 
of my sentence." 

The Court kotowed and burst into lamentations. The 
Ministers replied : " Your Majesty is indeed sage and 
enlightened. Every word you have uttered about Yiin 
Jeng is true. There is no need for us to memorialise in 
reply." 

To the Ministers of the Presence, K'ang Hsi delivered 
a separate homily : " When Yiin Jeng was Heir Apparent 
you naturally had to obey his orders, but I suspect that 
some among you were guilty of intrigue and flattery. 
Now that you have. been witnesses of his deposition I can 
imagine that you are passing days and nights of abject 
terror lest I should discover your relations with Yiin 
Jeng and punish you with decapitation. Yiin Jeng's 
wicked behaviour has forced me to take this action in 
his regard, but if I began instituting a wholesale proscrip- 
tion of all his faction, not one of my Court would escape 
punishment. I should be left to reign in solitary state. 
I have already dealt out a measure of punishment to the 
guilty, and there let the matter rest. Even if you are 
denounced I shall ignore the impeachment, so pray you, 
be at ease. 

" My reason for summoning my third son, Yiin Chih, 

252 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

to private audience to-day was due to his great intimacy 
with Yiin Jeng, and I had certain questions to put to him. 
It is not my intention to order his arrest, since, notwith- 
standing his close relations with his elder brother, he has 
not encouraged or abetted his pernicious designs. In 
fact, he assures me that he has frequently admonished 
the ex-Heir Apparent to forbear, but without success. 
I believe he is telling the truth, and I am fully acquainted 
with the facts. I have been greatly upset by these events, 
and my heart is disquieted within me ; hence my omission 
in the previous decree to reassure your panic-stricken 
minds and to bid you be at peace for the future." 

On the following morning K'ang Hsi, who was now on 
his way back to the capital, summoned his Court and the 
Manchu Grand Secretaries to his travelling tent, and thus 
addressed them : "I have always been guided by my 
historical studies and the lessons which past dynasties 
afford, and have refused to allow pretty women to have 
free access to the Palace. In the same way I have never 
allowed good-looking youths to minister to my wants and 
attend my table, because I wished there to be no flaw in 
the jade of my good name, and to keep my body in sub- 
jection. Among my hearers at this moment are Kuan 
Pao and Wu Shih, both of whom have attended me since 
my childhood ; they know all my goings out and comings 
in, and are aware that what I say is true. But this 
business of the ex-Heir Apparent has come as a terrible 
blow, and I have not slept for six nights." At this point 
the Emperor burst into loud weeping, and the courtiers, 
affecting an equal distress, responded : " Pray control 
yourself and be pleased to consider the sacred duty Your 
Majesty owes to the State and to your ancestors. It is 
essential that you take care of your health." 

K'ang Hsi then proceeded : "I have now reigned for 
nigh fifty years, and have won many new territories for 
my Empire. I brought the Eleuths to their knees, 

253 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

although they had never before acknowledged allegiance. 
I may be getting old, but if I may say so without boasting, 
I am still thoroughly capable of ruling with a statesman- 
like mien. Your love and loyalty for my person are, I 
am convinced, sincere ; I have always treated my officials 
with kindness and have never unjustly inflicted corporal 
punishment on my attendants. 

" But this year I have had to deplore the loss by death 
of many trusted officials. You do not know of the tears 
which I have shed in secret. Now you beg me to take 
care of my health, and I naturally feel bound to comply 
with your request. Ever since the beginning of the year I 
have had an apprehension of coming calamity, and I have 
mentioned my fears to the ex-Heir Apparent. When the 
incident of the mad priest, who claimed to have found the 
Ming descendant, occurred the other day, Yiin Jeng re- 
marked that my prophecy had come true. But at the 
time I told him that there was further trouble ahead, 
though I never anticipated the present misfortune. 

" You remember when my grandfather defeated the 
Ming armies, in the third year of T'ien Ts-ang (1629), and 
appeared in person outside the gates of Peking? His 
Generals then urged him to seize his opportunity and take 
the city. ' Now is your time,' said they, ' to found a 
dynasty. The city'is yours; why not take it at once? ' 
My grandsire replied : ' Peking, it is true, can easily be 
captured, but it behoves us to wait for the mandate of 
Heaven. The time is not yet ripe.' Fifteen years later, 
as you know, the capital fell into the hands of rebels, and 
the Princes and clansmen captured it for my father 
without trouble. The Empire became ours and in due 
course descended to me. Our dynasty has now ruled for 
two generations, and if the people are at peace it is due 
to my obedience to ancestral tradition and my ceaseless 
labours. 

" On occasions of drought I have fasted three days in 

254 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the Palace, burning incense and praying to the Almighty 
without ceasing. As soon as I proceeded to the Temple 
of Heaven to sacrifice, my prayers were heard and abun- 
dant rain fell. Does not this prove that I have found 
favour in the sight of Heaven ? But I have never indulged 
in vain boasting nor fancied that Heaven was bound to 
hearken to my prayers. Henceforth it is your duty to 
help me and to labour more earnestly." 

Yiin Jeng went with the Court on the return journey to 
Peking, and K'ang Hsi observed him closely. The result 
of his diagnosis was given to his Ministers, as follows : 
" Yiin Jeng is not a normal being. He sleeps the livelong 
day and breaks his fast at midnight. He indulges in 
deep potations, and can carry thirty or forty cups of strong 
spirit without becoming intoxicated. When I used to 
send him to perform sacrifice, he would become very 
nervous on reaching the altar and fail in the performance 
of the ceremonial. He is in terror of thunder and lightning, 
and even heavy rain alarms him. His behaviour is most 
eccentric, and he talks a lunatic gibberish. There can 
be no doubt that he is mad and sore vexed by demoniac 
possession. I have come to the conclusion that the 
Palace in Peking occupied by Yiin Jeng, that of ' Picked 
Fragrance,' is haunted. Its situation is low and unhealthy, 
and many deaths have occurred there. Through constant 
residence there Yiin Jeng has fallen a victim to an evil 
spirit, which has taken up its habitation in his body. It 
is a most extraordinary circumstance, but his conduct can 
only be due to demoniacal influence." 

On the following day the cortege reached Peking; 
during the journey the ex-Heir Apparent had been in 
the custody of his elder brother, Yiin Ch'ih. On reaching 
the city, K'ang Hsi ordered a felt tent to be prepared for 
his reception in the Imperial equipage department, and 
placed Yiin Jeng in charge of Yiin Ch'ih and of his foiu'th 
brother (who reigned later as Yung Cheng). 

255 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

The first thing to be done was to inform the Empress 
Dowager.^ After Her Majesty had signified her approval 
of the ex-Heir Apparent's deposition, K'ang Hsi ascended 
the Throne of the T'ui ho (Exalted Peace) Palace and 
read his decree : 

" The position of heir to the Throne is of the greatest 
importance to the State, and I, who am a keen student 
of history, could never regard the question of succession 
with indifference. During Yiin Jeng's childhood I taught 
him myself, and afterwards nominated competent pre- 
ceptors to instruct him in philosophy. It cannot be said 
that he did not show progress in his studies, while in 
horsemanship, archery, caligraphy and composition he 
was quite up to the average. But lately his mind has 
become clouded through demoniac possession : he fidgets 
incessantly, and talks and acts in the most peculiar 
fashion. He is always seeing visions; his sleeping and 
waking hours are full of terror. He keeps changing his 
abode, and will devour seven or eight bowls of rice at a 
meal without satisfying his appetite. He can carry 
thirty beakers of wine without inconvenience. 

" My inquiries have elicited several other interesting 
and surprising facts : of all his multitude of attendants 
not one speaks well of him. This is proof conclusive that 
his mind is deranged. I had intended to wait until my 
'•rrival in Peking before putting him under arrest, but 
circumstances rendered prompt action necessary. What 
is your opinion of his case ? " The Court remained on its 
knees, and Prince K'ang, the senior Prince present, 
answered : " Your Majesty nurtured the Heir Apparent 
with benevolence and trained him in the path of duty. 
But of late years he has become demented, and is possessed 

^ The consort of Shun Chih, by name Borjikin, a daughter of Duke 
Chorchi, of the Mongol Khorehia tribe. Now in her seventy-third 
year, she was a remarkable old lady, who took an active part in the 
Government. K'ang Hsi was devoted to her. She died in 1718, 
aged eighty-three. 

256 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

by a devil. Your decision to disinherit him is warranted 
by circumstances; our opinion is unanimous." 

K'ang Hsi rephed : " I have made up my mind, and 
shall inform Heaven and earth and the Temple of An- 
cestors. The Heir Apparent is sentenced to confinement 
in prison. He was son of my Empress Consort, and has 
received the most loving care at my hands. I used to 
teach him that he must obey the precepts of our ancestors, 
and would point the moral which the classics and history 
teach — how that the success or ruin of a dynasty depends 
upon its retention of the confidence of the people. How- 
ever ignorant he may be, surely he must be aware that 
no one can afford to forfeit the people's trust. But, in 
spite of the careful training which he has received, his 
conduct has left him without a single friend. Can it be 
doubted that he is a victim to demoniac possession, 
irresponsible for his actions ? 

" Yiin Jeng's case is disposed of. If my other sons 
make it a pretext for forming cabals and for endeavouring 
to ruin Yiin Jeng's former partisans, I shall show them no 
mercy. 

" My great grandfather, our founder, decapitated his 
eldest son Ch'u Yen on charges brought against him by 
the other Princes; my grandsire visited punishment on 
one of the Princesses in connection with the charge against 
Prince Mang-ku-erh-tai ; in my father's time Prince Li 
accused his son Sheto and his grandson At-a-li of breaking 
the law, and both were beheaded; the former Regent, 
my uncle, Prince Jui, put Princes to death for flattery and 
intrigue; in my own childhood, soon after my accession, 
Ao Pai paid off grudges against his colleague in the 
Regency, Su-ko-sa-ha, by exterminating him and all his 
family, in spite of my remonstrances. Such cases are 
common, and in our family it seems inevitable that these 
fratricidal quarrels should occur, owing to its inveterate 
tendency to form cabals. Will not this be a warning to 
s 257 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

you all? I have now reigned forty-eight years, a period 
longer than all (save a few exceptions) of my predecessors 
in history. This is a sure sign that the Almighty regards 
me with affection, and in return am I not bound to do my 
best for the Empire and my subjects ? " 

Upon the deposition of the Heir Apparent, two high 
officials of the Court, partisans of the eighth Prince, Yiin 
Ssii, hoping to gain credit and the succession for their 
patron, circulated fresh charges against Yiin Jeng for 
the purpose of poisoning the Emperor's mind and inducing 
him to have the wretched Yiin Jeng put to death. On 
perusing the memorial which they put in the Emperor was 
very wrath, and decided to order his son's execution. 
But he was turned from this purpose by Lou Te-na, a 
Chamberlain of the Presence, an aged official who had 
great influence over him. He had fixed on the day of his 
return to the Palace from the western hills to issue his 
death decree, but before the cortege started for the city 
Lou asked for audience. After speaking of routine details 
he said : "A strange thing has happened : the command- 
ant of the guards at the city gate, who used to be excessively 
fat, has been suddenly smitten with sickness, and is now 
as thin as a lathe." When K'ang Hsi reached Peking, 
he saw the commandant standing at the head of his men, 
and noticed that he was as fat as usual, whereupon he 
rebuked Lou with making a false report. Lou laughingly 
answered : " This may show Your Majesty how un- 
reliable are these reports about the former Heir Apparent. 
If false rumours can get about concerning your com- 
mandant's loss of flesh, how much more so in the case of a 
Prince who is naturally a target for the calumnies of 
jealous persons ! " K'ang Hsi nodded and tore up the 
decree which would have consigned his son to the scaffold. 

The Hanlin Academy drew up a form of liturgy for the 
Emperor to use in informing Heaven, earth, the tutelary 
deities, and the ancestral spirits of the Heir Apparent 's 

258 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

deposition. But its form was not modest enough to 
please K'ang Hsi, who substituted one of his own, and 
ordered that it be rendered into Manchu without the 
alteration of a character, " to show the depth of his 
sincerity." On the translation being completed the 
Emperor was still dissatisfied, and administered the 
following rebuke to all concerned. " In my draft of the 
proposed service I used the words : ' Bending my body 
and exhausting my energies, ceasing only with death.' 
I was quoting the words of Chu-ko Liang (a famous 
General) in his memorial on taking the field. You are, 
no doubt, under the impression that such language can 
only be appropriately used by a Minister, and should not 
proceed from the Sovereign. You therefore altered the 
meaning in the Manchu version. Now I consider that 
these words are worthy of a loyal and good Minister like 
Chu-ko Liang, but if such devotion be fitting in the states- 
man, how much more is it so in the Sovereign? Let 
me explain my meaning to you Ministers. The statesman 
can always lay the blame for his mistakes on the Sovereign, 
but on whom is the Sovereign to shuffle off his responsi- 
bility ? It is his bounden duty to ' bend his body and 
exhaust his energies ' in reverence to God and diligent 
care for the people. I am the son of Almighty God, and 
God is my only stay; the Heir Apparent was formerly 
the object on which my hope and trust centred. But his 
conduct has rendered his deposition inevitable ; how, then, 
could I omit to inform God Almighty ? The ceremony is 
fixed for to-morrow." 

The Heir Apparent had intrigued with the various 
Ministries and frequently interfered in Government ap- 
pointments, doubtless for a tangible consideration. K'ang 
Hsi ordered an investigation, as the result of which the 
Cabinet reported that there was no proof of his having 
actually altered or cancelled any orders issued by the 
Throne. K'ang Hsi replied : " Naturally he would not 

259 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

have had the effrontery to make changes in rescripts and 
decrees issued by my vermihon pencil; nevertheless, he 
was always seeking to usurp the supreme power. It is 
certain that in many instances he secured the shelving 
of measures of which he disapproved, and conversely 
the expediting of those in which he was interested, 
besides having exerted illicit influence for venal objects. 
I hereby command that every appointment or measure 
which has been recently promulgated, and about which 
there is the least taint of suspicion, shall be cancelled 
forthwith." 

The following is the text of his Decree to the Nation : 
" By God's grace I succeeded to my ancestors' patrimony, 
forty- eight years ago. Throughout my reign I have 
reverenced the Almighty and striven to meet my subjects' 
wishes. I do not forget that God created the people, and 
appointed a ruler to govern them in order that their needs 
might be studied. I have ever made careful inquiries 
as to the condition of my subjects all over the Empire; 
in no single instance have I shown slackness ; I have made 
grants from my privy purse amounting to scores of 
millions of taels. I have relieved their distress by re- 
ducing the land tax, and have saved thousands of lives 
by amnesties to. offenders, because it is the duty of a 
Sovereign to cherish his people, and this principle was 
inculcated by my ancestors as a behest to their posterity. 
" But in spite of all my careful training, the Heir 
Apparent, Yiin Jeng, is vicious by nature, and has dis- 
obeyed my instructions. Although his conduct steadily 
deteriorated, I was in hopes of his amendment, and allowed 
him to accompany me on my numerous journeys to the 
southern and western provinces, in the hope that he might 
thus acquire a knowledge of local conditions and of the 
people over whom he would one day rule. 

" But he blackmailed the Viceroys and Governors, and 
extorted bribes from local officials. His retinue was 

260 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

composed of bad characters, who levied tribute on the 
countryside and committed acts of violence and robbery. 
I would often urge him to be more economical, as it is the 
people who have to provide for all our requirements, but 
he gave full play to his wicked lusts, and showed no signs 
of amendment. He has made away with articles of 
tribute which were destined for my use, and has appro- 
priated huge sums from the Imperial treasury. There 
are no bounds to his oppression of the people. Of late 
his fiendish cruelty and unholy lust have become still 
more flagrant; the Princes and Ministers have all been 
victims of his overbearing insults, and have even suffered 
beatings at his hands. When I found out that So-e-tu 
and Ch'ang-t'ai were plotting against me on his initiative 
I put them to death at once; in consequence of which 
Yiin Jeng has harboured resentment against me, and has 
even dared to spy on my movements in the privacy of the 
Imperial tent. Beyond all doubt, he intended to assassi- 
nate me, and his whole behaviour indicates demoniac 
possession. The Classic of History says : ' Heaven sees 
as my people see; Heaven hears as my people hear. 
Heaven will surely detest the man whom the people 
hate.' 

" How can such a man be permitted to perform the 
ancestral sacrifice or worship the tutelary deities as 
Emperor? I have given most careful thought to this 
matter, and feel that my bounden duty leaves no alter- 
native. I have received the gracious orders of the 
Empress Dowager to announce Yiin Jeng's deposition 
and arrest at the several shrines, in order to propitiate 
the ancestral spirits and to comfort my people. 

" I have now stated all the circumstances, and as a 
special grace bestow exemption on my subjects in re- 
mitting taxation, out of sympathy for the exactions which 
they have endured at Yiin Jeng's hands. By purifying 
the fountain of national life, the stability of my dynasty 

261 



ANNAI.S AND MEMOIRS OF 

will be enhanced; by this act of clemency the bounty of 
the Throne will everywhere be manifested." 

On the following morning K'ang Hsi thus addressed his 
sons : "At the time of Yiin Jeng's arrest, my eldest son, 
Yiin Ch'ih, said to me : ' Yiin Jeng's behaviour is utterly 
base and abominable, he is scarcely to be called a human 
being. Not long ago a fortune-teller named Chang 
Ming-ti examined Yiin Ssii (the eighth son's) physiognomy, 
and declared that he would eventually inherit the Throne. 
If you desire Yiin Jeng's death it can be arranged by us, 
and there is no need for Your Majesty, my father, to lay 
hands on him.' When I heard the above speech I was 
completely dumbfoundered. I am well aware that my 
eldest son is violent by nature and of a besotted ignorance, 
for whom duty and principle mean nothing. If he and 
his brother, Yiin Ssii, were really hatching a plot to assassi- 
nate Yiin Jeng they are quite capable of carrying it out, 
regardless of the possible consequences to myself. Such 
men are no better than traitors or parricides, since they 
transgress every tie of loyalty and filial duty. They will 
reap their reward either in the judgment of Heaven or the 
punishment of man." 

K'ang Hsi compelled his eldest son, Yiin Ch'ih, to hand 
over the physiognomist Chang Ming-ti (who had foretold 
that his eighth son would be Emperor), and commanded 
his trial by a commission. The Emperor remarked : "I 
am acquainted with the circumstances of the case, which 
are most grave and involve a large number of persons. 
This man, Chang Ming-ti, has been sending notices round 
to many officials, but he alone is to be punished, and no 
general proscription will be permitted." 

By this time K'ang Hsi was thoroughly uneasy about 
his domestic affairs, and evidently in abject terror of 
assassination. Again he summoned his sons to the Palace, 
and thus addressed them : " You must really keep your 
retainers in better order and prevent them from creating 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

disturbances. The husbands of your foster-nurses are of 
thoroughly disreputable antecedents ; indeed, your house- 
holds are mainly composed of scheming and illiterate 
persons who misbehave and ill-treat the people. Take 
Yiin Ch'ih's four eunuchs, for example, or his two body- 
servants. They are always spying on my movements 
and endeavouring to get hold of Palace gossip. I know 
all about the origin of these men, in fact I have had to 
banish several of Yiin Ch'ih's servants before now, while 
others have been killed in brawls. You, Yiin Ch'ih, 
really ought to have some little self-respect. I have not 
spared Yiin Jeng, and shall certainly not be more lenient 
with the rest of you. When, on a previous occasion, I 
called you all to my presence, Yiin Ch'ih replied as 
follows : ' Hereafter all of us brothers will dwell together 
in unity. We shall spend our days happily in the light 
of your presence, O Imperial father.' 

" Now, I regard the above remark as far from satis- 
factory : suppose that among your number there be one 
bad character, who conducts himself lawlessly, are all 
you brothers going to ' dwell together in unity ' with him ? 
Besides, Yiin Ch'ih's own record is very bad; he uttered 
slanders against the ex-Heir Apparent and tried to 
induce me to put him to death. Who can believe a word 
he says, when he talks so glibly about unity in future ? 
In the past Yiin Ch'ih has had the effrontery to lay violent 
hands on my guardsmen and major-domos; these men 
can be produced as witnesses. When Yiin Jeng was in 
his custody he carried off several of the workmen and 
labourers at his brother's residence and had them cruelly 
flogged. The result was that some committed suicide 
and others ran away. No wonder that every one thinks 
badly of you, Yiin Ch'ih. 

" My troubles come thick and fast : first my eighteenth 
son died suddenly, and now I have had to bear Yiin Jeng's 
deposition. You ought to consider your poor father a 

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ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

little and conduct yourselves with decency. Does not 
the classic say : ' He who loves his father will never dare 
to incur the hatred of others; he who respects his father 
will never allow himself to deserve contempt ' ? You set 
a bad example and are breaking my heart; how can you 
have the heart to treat me so ? Kindly inform your 
respective households of this decree." 

Yiin Ssu was at this time Comptroller of the Household, 
and had been ordered to assess the value of a disgraced 
ofhcial's property, who was an ex-Comptroller. The 
amount was far less than the Emperor had anticipated, 
as the official in question was noted for his vast wealth. 
K'ang Hsi, enraged at this, summoned Yiin Ssii to his 
Palace : " Your report is inaccurate," he said. " If you 
try to hoodwink me like this, I shall cut your head off. 
You are always trying to make a good impression on 
people by pretending to be lenient and generous. The 
result is that you assume all the credit for my acts of 
generosity and clemency. Every one praises you, while 
I am blamed for severity. The fact is you are following 
in the wake of Yiin Jeng; hereafter, if any one says a 
word in your favour to me I shall decapitate him. How 
can I allow my sovereign authority to be delegated to 
such as you? " 

K'ang Hsi's rages were fast becoming hysterical. His 
sons were kept in constant attendance. Again he ad- 
dressed them : " When I deposed Yiin Jeng, I made it 
quite clear to all of you that if you intrigued for the 
position of Heir Apparent you would be treated as rebels 
against the State, and would be subject to decapitation 
without further warning. How can the succession to 
the jewelled Inheritance be made the object of your vulgar 
scheming and intrigues? I am well aware that Yiin 
Ssu is cunning and treacherous, and that he cherishes 
ambitions for the Throne. In the past he and his parti- 
sans have tried to assassinate Yiin Jeng. Their plot now 

264 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

stands revealed. I command that Yiin Ssii be placed 
under arrest at once, and that he be examined by the 
Council of Government. When I deposed Yiin Jeng, my 
eldest son Yiin Ch'ih dared to say : ' Yiin Ssii is a good 
man.' Now it is a principle laid down in the Spring and 
Autumn Annals that when a subject plans treason the 
Sovereign is bound to put him to death." 

At this point Yiin T'ang, the ninth Prince, interposed, 
and, disregarding their sire's presence, rudely shouted 
out to his younger brother, Yiin Ti : " If we don't speak 
now we shall never have a better opportunity." Yiin 
Ti then loudly exclaimed : " The eighth prince, Yiin Ssii, 
never plotted against Yiin Jeng; my brother and I will 
guarantee his innocence." 

At this K'ang Hsi burst into one of his frantic rages (he 
was subject to epilepsy), and seized the sword which he 
was wearing with the intention of slaying Yiin Ti there 
and then. But the fifth prince, Yiin Ch'i, knelt and 
implored mercy, while the remainder kotowed, K'ang 
Hsi became calmer, and ordered the other Princes to 
administer a sound whipping on Yiin Ti's person, after 
which Yiin Ti and Yiin T'ang were forcibly expelled from 
the Palace. 

After this serio-comic episode, the commissioners 
presented their report of the examination of the physiog- 
nomist. They said : " The physiognomist, Chang Ming-ti, 
under examination, has confessed that he was recom- 
mended by Prince Shun's major-domo to Prince Chih 
(Yiin Ssii). He says : ' I had the audacity to speak 
random words, and ventured to accuse the Heir Apparent 
of committing cruel deeds. I even said I would slay 
him if I got the chance. I also made a vague boast that 
I was endowed with supernatural power. I gained access 
to the Prince, Yiin Ssii, and tempted him, in order to 
make money. When I was presented to him and told his 
fortune I said : ' Your Highness is highly intellectual, 

265 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

kind-hearted and brilliant; you will have a long life, 
enjoy high honours, and, indeed, your face is that of a 
future Emperor.' This is the whole truth." The Com- 
mission recommended his decapitation. 

This report did not serve to improve the Emperor's 
temper; he summoned the whole Court to audience, and 
said : " Yiin Ssu is a traitor. I shall not permit you to 
ask for any remission of his punishment on the ground 
that he is my son or that he has been the tool of others. 
Heaven is above me and I am just in all things ; how could 
I show favouritism to my sons ? My father ascended the 
Throne at five years of age, and I at eight. We both 
had to depend on our officials' assistance. Regarding my 
successor, I have made up my mind long ago, but do not 
choose to make the selection public. When the time 
comes, do you all conform to my wishes." 

Referring to the physiognomist Chang Ming-ti, the 
Emperor issued the following decree : " Before the 
deposition of the Heir Apparent, Chang Ming-ti planned 
to assassinate both him and myself. He declared that he 
was able to summon at will sixteen magicians who could 
fly, and that two of these had already arrived. But all 
the good men and true in the Empire were now drawing 
the Emperor's pay, and success would be impossible unless 
one or two of these could be enticed from their allegiance. 
Pie also said that nothing could be accomplished until 
at least half of the young Princes had been won over. 
Language of this kind is indeed revolutionary. It is 
fortunate for me that my personal bodyguard is composed 
of men of determined loyalty, who refused to listen to his 
insidious suggestions. My eldest son heard of the plot 
and informed me, but Prince Shun and others were 
responsible for the physiognomist's introduction at Court, 
and are extremely guilty. Yiin Ssu knew of the design, 
yet he never said a word to me. Is this fitting conduct in 
a son or Minister of State ? Supposing Chang Ming-ti 

266 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

had only told Yiin Ssu's fortune and made no treasonable 
proposals, what made him speak to his two younger 
brothers about the conspiracy? Yiin Ssii is now in 
custody; Prince Shun is also to be arrested. As to 
Chang Ming-ti, his guilt is too great for simple decapita- 
tion; he is sentenced to dismemberment." 

At the examination Prince Shun confessed that Chang 
Ming-ti had tried to induce him to join his plot against 
the Heir Apparent, but that he had at once informed the 
eldest Prince. The two younger Princes, Yiin T'ang and 
Yiin Ti declared under examination that they had re- 
monstrated with the physiognomist for his mad sugges- 
tions and refused to have any dealings with him. Yiin Ssu 
admitted having told his younger brothers of the physiog- 
nomist's wild remarks. K'ang Hsi accordingly degraded 
Yiin Ssii to the rank of an unemployed Imperial Clansman, 
and ordered all the parties concerned in the case to be 
present at Chang Ming-ti's dismemberment. All these 
troubles were affecting the Emperor's health, and his 
Court begged him to take more care. In reply he issued 
a long decree recounting his sorrow at his sons' unfilial 
behaviour. Now that his years were advancing, he was 
more than ever afraid of making a false step, lest he should 
dim the glory of his reign and diminish the veneration with 
which the Empire regarded him. 

The Emperor's refusal to make any announcement 
concerning the succession was undoubtedly due to his 
fear of creating fresh dissensions and precipitating a crisis 
in the Palace. There was, in fact, not one of his sons in 
whom he could place absolute confidence, not one to 
whom he had transmitted the qualities of wisdom and 
virtue on which he so frankly prided himself. The sheep 
in his domestic flock were all black, and the son upon 
whom, on his deathbed, he conferred the Throne, in the 
belief that he came nearest to the paternal model, was 
little better, though more prudent, than the rest. K'ang 

267 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Hsi enlarged the borders and increased the prosperity 
and culture of his Empire, but he left to China in his un- 
righteous posterity a legacy of evil that was destined to 
create increasing trouble with every generation, and 
eventually to bring about the downfall of the dynasty. 
The only important difference between the sons of K'ang 
Hsi and the dissolute Princes of the Imperial Clan of the 
present day, lies in the fact that the former were com- 
paratively virile and physically active, and that they were 
not subject, like their effete descendants, to the domina- 
tions of Palace eunuchs, the last and most powerful of the 
enervating influences which finally demoralised the Court 
of Peking. 



268 



CHAPTER XI 

THE TRIBULATIONS OF YUNG CHENG 

In December 1722, being then in his sixty-eighth year, 
the Emperor K'ang Hsi was seized of a sudden illness 
whilst engaged in a hunting expedition in the Imperial 
Park to the south of Peking. He made haste to return 
to his favourite retreat, the Garden of Bright Spring, 
close to the Yuan-Ming-yuan Palace. At first he seemed 
to be getting better, but was unable to perform the winter 
solstice sacrifice at the Temple of Heaven, and therefore 
deputed his son Yin Chen (Prince Yung) to officiate in 
his stead. The Prince proceeded to the Hall of Fasting 
to prepare for the solemn ceremony, but had scarcely 
arrived there when there came urgent messengers to inform 
him that the Emperor was dying, and that he must hasten 
to his bedside. When he came to his father's presence, 
he found there assembled, by the Emperor's command, 
seven of his brothers, and K'ang Hsi's brother-in-law. 
Lung Ko-to. The dying Monarch, without wasting many 
words, communicated to them his last mandate, that 
Prince Yung was to succeed to the Throne. " My fourth 
son is very like me," he said, " and ought to make a good 
Emperor." At these words, Yiin Ssii (unquestionably 
the ablest of all K'ang Hsi's sons), who until then had 
never abandoned hope of securing the Throne, was so 
overcome with mortification and wrath, that, simulating 
intense grief, he left the bedchamber. The Heir-designate 
proceeded, as custom required, to array his dying father 

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ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

in his " robes of longevity," and after witnessing his 
decease (20th December, 1722) accompanied the remains 
to the Forbidden City, where they were temporarily laid 
to rest in the Chien-Ching-kung. 

It was no bed of roses to which the new Emperor 
succeeded. He was then forty-four years of age, and had 
distinguished himself chiefly amongst his turbulent and 
treasonable brethren by prudently abstaining from their 
plots against the first Heir Apparent and against K'ang 
Hsi himself. But judged in the light of his own record 
as Emperor, and of his writings and decrees, his only 
claim to the admiration of posterity lies in his literary 
attainments and in his painstaking attention to the routine 
business of government. In his domestic life, as in his 
relations with his Ministers and Court, he has written 
himself down, beyond all possibility of doubt, as a suspi- 
cious, querulous and savagely vindictive individual. In- 
deed, the dynastic annals of his reign are so burdened 
with the long-winded homilies and lachrymose complain- 
ings of his domestic infelicities, that, were they the only 
sources of our knowledge of the period, one might be led 
to the belief that the discussion and settlement of the 
Imperial Clan's unseemly wranglings constituted the 
entire business of government. Nevertheless, these edicts 
and homilies of Yung Cheng (to give him his reign-title) 
are replete with a deep human interest, and help greatly 
to explain the causes of the Manchu decline, which 
(though arrested during the sixty years of Ch'ien Lung's 
reign) may be said to have commenced with the sons of 
K'ang Hsi. We have thought it advisable to reproduce 
the most important of these documents, because, taken 
as a whole, they afford a very striking indictment of the 
results of polygamy, as practised by Oriental Courts, and 
partially explain the failure of the East's patriarchal 
system as an integrating social force. 

Yung Cheng ascended the Throne with the unpleasant 

270 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

certainty in his mind that all his brothers, with the one 
exception of Yiin Hsiang,^ were hostile to him. His 
first act was characteristic of the Oriental diplomat. He 
appointed a council of four to administer the government, 
so as to leave him free to observe the ceremonial ritual of 
mourning for the full three years enjoined by the Sage. 
This Council consisted of his two brothers, Yiin Ssu and 
Yiin Hsiang (the bad boy of the family and the good) 
together with the Grand Secretary Ma Chi and his uncle 
Lung Ko-to. His object in appointing Yiin Ssii, whom he 
feared and hated, to this responsible post, was to keep 
him under his eye, as he knew him for an arch plotter, and 
believed that none of his other brothers were strong 
enough to carry out a successful conspiracy without the 
masterful Yiin Ssii's directions. At the same time, as the 
rebellion in the north-west was causing much anxiety, 
the Emperor took an early opportunity to recall Yiin 
Ti (K'ang Hsi's fourteenth son), then in supreme 
command of the Imperial forces, for the reason that this 
Prince was one of Yiin Ssii's party, and Yung Cheng 
feared that he might be induced to proclaim Yun Ssu 
Emperor, and support him with his army. 

Yiin Ssii showed plainly enough his dislike and distrust 
of his brother, the Emperor; when congratulated on his 
own new title, he remarked that the Emperor evidently 
meant to have his head, so that condolences would be 
more in order. This was duly reported to Yung Cheng 
by eunuch spies; not an auspicious opening. 

Yung Cheng, following in his father's footsteps, began 
early to administer vapid and verbose homilies to 
his family and Court; a habit which seems to have been 
inveterate in all the Emperors and, for that matter, the 

^ For whom the grateful Emperor created the Yi princedom. A 
direct descendant of the house of Yi, in the person of Tsai yuan, con- 
spired against the Old Buddha in 1861 (vide China under the Empress 
Dowager). 

271 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Empresses, of the Manchu dynasty. Only in the case of 
the Old Buddha were these Pecksniffian utterances re- 
deemed by the saving grace of humour ; even when dealing 
out unctuous platitudes with a lavish hand, that great 
woman always gave the impression that, in performing this 
congenial duty, she was chuckling to herself. As a speci- 
men of one of Yung Cheng's earlier efforts the following 
tirade is worth quoting : " The habit of forming cabals 
and parties is thoroughly objectionable. It prevailed to 
an appalling extent under the Ming dynasty and, alas, it 
still continues. The late Emperor erred ever on the side 
of leniency and was loth to put any offenders to death. 
Even you, members of my own family, it seems, are not 
above this abominable tendency, but if you imagine that 
you are going to enjoy the same immunity as you enjoyed 
during my father's lifetime, you do err most grievously. 
Human nature is always the same ; those in office naturally 
desire to retain the right to make private friends whereso- 
ever they will. But the business of State requires that 
all personal predilections must be rigorously set aside. 
You all remember when I was a Prince and went about 
among you. When did I ever try to promote my own 
interests or to intrigue on behalf of my ^proteges ? You 
never knew me to pay clandestine visits for unlawful 
purposes ; my father recognised my unswerving rectitude, 
and therefore made me his heir. Since then, it seems to 
me that I have displayed an admirable leniency in not 
venting past grudges on those who are against me. It is 
my earnest hope that if any of you are in the habit of 
fomenting conspiracies, you will now desist. If I err in 
thus accusing you, see to it that you never merit charges 
of the kind in future." 

As may be supposed, this sort of thing was not calcu- 
lated to induce brotherly love, and the plots continued as 
before. It was unfortunate for the reputation and in- 
fluence of the Roman Catholic Church that several of the 

272 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

conspiring Princes were known to be on friendly terms with 
the fathers at Court, and some, it was beheved, had even 
been baptised into the faith. 

In the first year of Yung Cheng's reign it was decided 
by the Board of Rites, upon a memorial of the provincial 
literati, that the foreign priests should be excluded from 
all parts of China (except Peking) and that their churches 
should be destroyed. The priests were accordingly com- 
pelled to leave their then flourishing missions in the interior 
and seek refuge at Macao and Canton. Over three hundred 
churches were destroyed. The intrigues of the fathers at 
Peking and their interference in the domestic broils of the 
Court were no doubt to some extent responsible for the 
attitude of the Emperor ; but the trouble had been brewing 
all through the later years of K'ang Hsi. 

Yiin Ssii's principal aiders and abettors were the Princes 
Yiin O and Yiin T'ang, but all the brothers, except Prince 
Yi, were more or less implicated. Yung Cheng decided to 
get Yiin O out of the way for a time by sending him on a 
mission to Mongolia, but he refused to proceed any fur- 
ther than Kalgan, and threatened to return thence without 
leave. Yung Cheng met this insubordination with char- 
acteristic Manchu wiliness by ordering his brother, the chief 
plotter, Yiin Ssii, to recommend a suitable penalty for the 
offence. Yiin Ssii cheerfully proposed that Yiin O be 
deprived of his princedom, shorn of his estates and confined 
for all time in the Court of the Imperial Clan. Thereupon 
Yung Cheng issued the following decree : 

" Yiin O is a mean and contemptible person, whose 
conduct is that of a wild and insensate fool. Although he 
had the benefit of my father's training, both in literary 
pursuits and martial exercises, for over thirty years, yet 
he has completely failed to derive any profit therefrom. 
His conduct was a constant source of grief to His late 
Majesty. So infatuate is he, and so bereft of reason, that 
he does not realise his own utter stupidity and worthless- 
T 273 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

ness ; instead of retiring into private life and thinking over 
his misdeeds, he lets his evil designs be noised abroad. 
Yiin Ssu's recommendations in this matter meet the case. 
All the world knows that I have displayed the fullest 
measure of frank sympathy for my brothers all these 
thirty years. All the world likewise knows how they have 
requited my father and me. I shall now be glad to be 
favoured with the candid opinion of my Court in regard 
to Yiin O's case; but I warn you all not to imitate Yiin 
Ssu in uttering high-sounding but specious catchwords, 
for in so doing you would not only be doing yourselves 
an injustice, but would insult the memory of your late 
Sovereign. It is, of course, conceivable that Yiin Ssii, in 
giving his decision, has spoken from honest conviction, 
concealing no sinister motive; but of this I have grave 
doubts." 

The Princes and courtiers debated the case, and finally 
advised that Yiin O should be cashiered and imprisoned, 
as Yiin Ssii had recommended. To their memorial Yung- 
Cheng replied : " When first I handed over Yiin O's case 
to Yiin Ssii, I was curious to see how he would deal with it. 
It is to be borne in mind, that Yiin O, Yun T'ang and Yiin Ti 
have always been entirely under the influence of Yiin Ssii, 
whose duty it was to train them in the right way. Far 
from so doing, he has invariably encouraged them to 
disobey my mandates. And now, behold, he urges me 
to inflict a severe penalty on an offender who has acted 
at his instigation, in the hope that, if I adopt his advice, 
public opinion may blame me for excessive cruelty to my 
brother. He does not appear to realise that no penalty, 
however severe, could be excessive in a case of such 
flagrant disobedience to the orders of a Sovereign and an 
elder brother. Leniency would be misapplied in Yiin O's 
case, because he would fail to appreciate it ; admonitions 
have no effect on one who fears not the law. You will, 
therefore, prepare for me a full report of Yiin O's past and 

274 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

present record. I myself have no thought of sparing my 
brother, but you are at Uberty to recommend either a 
milder or a severer penalty than that advised by Yiin 
Ssii, as you may think fit." This inquiry, as was to be 
expected, resulted in Yiin O's being stripped of his 
princedom and sentenced to imprisonment for life. 

In 1724, Yiin T'ang, another of the disloyal brothers, 
incited by Yiin Ssii, was impeached for having specu- 
lated in land belonging to nomad Mongols while on a 
mission to Hsining, and for having caused the people in 
that region to rebel by flagrant abuse of power. He was 
deprived of his princedom, and the Emperor, whose 
morbid fear of a plot against his life increased with every 
fresh evidence of his brothers' evil doings, seized the 
occasion to deliver himself of the following irrelevant 
remarks : " Yiin Ssii hates me because I will not allow 
myself to be influenced by personal prejudices. He 
endeavours to excite my wrath and to induce me to embark 
on a general proscription against my enemies. In this 
way he hopes to make me hated by my people and to 
bring about a rebellion. But his wish will never be 
gratified. The ancient adage has it : ' Any one is at 
liberty to slay a rebellious Minister and a bad son.' My 
father often quoted this wise saying with special reference 
to Yiin Ssii." 

Yung Cheng even took the trouble to compose a long- 
winded pamphlet setting forth the evil results of parties 
in the State working against the Throne's advisers, and 
denouncing the conduct of certain of the Princes who 
had bestowed parting gifts upon one of Yiin Ssii's party, 
condemned to banishment at the post roads. " Yiin 
Ssii," he wrote, " is a traitor ever conspiring against me, 
who, since my accession, has always tried to counteract 
my orders. I have had occasion to refer his conduct to the 
Court of the Imperial Clan on more than a score of counts, 
but have hitherto refrained from punishing him as he 

275 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

deserves. In spite of this leniency many of my courtiers 
blame me for undue severity towards him ; the fact being 
that Yiin Ssu has befooled them. I can read in their 
faces their resentment, yet how many Ministers have 
suffered punishment for Yiin Ssii's misdeeds while he has 
gone scot-free ! But no cabal can be formed by one man, 
and unless Yiin Ssii found sympathisers he would be 
powerless. He wins adherents by a fictitious display of 
generosity, which is meant as a foil to my meanness. He 
gains a cheap reputation at my expense, but his motives 
are plain enough. It seems perfectly hopeless to expect 
any amendment from Yiin Ssii, but I repeat my solemn 
warnings to the Princes and Ministers." 

Yiin Ssii certainly displayed great ingenuity in winning 
popularity; he managed to obtain credit for all the 
Emperor's acts of generosity and to place him in a bad 
light. When head of the Li Fan-pu, he disallowed, on 
behalf of the Throne, the Khorchin Princes' travelling 
allowance after their yearly appearance at Court. As head 
of the Board of Works he granted exemption from certain 
dues without reference to the Emperor, and so on. 

Yiin Jeng, the former Heir Apparent, whom K'ang Hsi 
had deprived of all his titles and imprisoned for life, was 
reported to be dying in his prison at the Coal Hill. Yung 
Cheng sent physicians to attend him, but they pronounced 
his case hopeless. The Emperor dispensed with the 
formality of paying the sick man a personal visit, on the 
ground that the patient would be obliged to make obei- 
sance before his Sovereign, which was contrary to etiquette, 
as he was the elder brother. Accordingly, he sent a message 
to say that, instead of seeing him, he would perform liba- 
tions to his spirit after decease, which was doubtless very 
gratifying to Yiin Jeng. His title of Prince Li was formally 
restored to him. 

On the completion of the orthodox twenty-seven months 
of mourning for K'ang Hsi, the Emperor excused his 

276 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Council of Four from further duties and bestowed rewards 
on Yiin Hsiang. Of Yiin Ssii he said : " Ever since I 
bestowed this appointment upon him he has neglected all 
his duties and shifted responsibility on to his colleagues. 
He has never spoken a helpful word nor performed one 
useful act. He has done his utmost to poison men's 
minds against me, to put obstacles in my path and to 
confuse my judgment. For instance, when head of the 
Board of Works he was responsible for the arrangements at 
my father's obsequies. Custom required that twenty thou- 
sand bearers should be engaged to convey the catafalque 
to its last resting-place (ninety miles away) at the Eastern 
Tombs. He actually dared to memorialise me, saying 
that, on the ground of expense, the number might well be 
reduced by one half. Unaware of the established pre- 
cedents, I weakly agreed. Had not the Grand Secretaries 
come to my rescue and explained the demands of etiquette, 
a terrible blunder would have been committed. Also, in 
his capacity as head of the Mongolian Superintendency, he 
tried to prevent the Mongol Princes from coming to Peking 
to pay their respects to my father's coffin, on the plea of 
unnecessary expenditure ; they were moved to tears in the 
extremity of their grief, and had the matter not been 
brought to my notice, their loyalty to my House might have 
been seriously affected. He took it upon himself to weed 
out more than half the horses in the Imperial stables, 
pretending to economise, but his real object was to call 
attention to my father's extravagance in maintaining so 
large a stud. The result was that there were not horses 
enough for my needs. He was wont to use dirty bits of 
the commonest paper on which to memorialise the Throne. 
When it fell to him to prepare the pavilion adjoining the 
sacrificial temples, where I changed my robes in the 
intervals of the liturgy, the smell of new paint on the 
various utensils was so nauseating that while robing I could 
scarcely breathe. The tables were all in a very rickety 

277 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

condition, and it was unsafe to sit on the chairs. He 
showed gross disrespect in the arrangements made for 
reciting the prayers at this solemn ceremony. Every 
one knows the levity of his behaviour. I have no time to 
recount all the instances of his careless sloth and male- 
volent vulgarity. Yet have I borne with them all ! Yiin 
Ssu is no fool, and knows full well what he is about. Who 
can guess his motives ? In connection with the supplj^ 
of red earth required at Moukden for the mausoleum of 
our great founder, Yiin Ssii had the effrontery to purchase 
all the supplies available and then to sell it to the depart- 
ment concerned at a handsome profit to himself. He 
deserves my sternest censure, and I must decline to bestow 
any reward or honour upon him for his work on my 
Council." 

Next came the case of Yiin T'ang. At a conclave of all the 
courtiers Yung Cheng delivered himself of a characteristic 
sermon : " Owing to the abominable conduct of Yiin 
T'ang, I sent him to Hsining. There he connived at the 
lawless acts of his personal staff, and arrogated to himself 
rank higher than he possessed. Accordingly, I sent 
General Ch'u Tsung to remonstrate with him and to urge 
him to amend his ways. Ch'u now informs me that 
Yiin T'ang did not take the trouble to come from his 
residence to meet him with the respect due to an Imperial 
envoy; he omitted to bend the knee, and when at last 
he did condescend to summon Ch'u to his presence he 
showed no signs of shame or regret. On the contrary, 
he seemed thoroughly self-satisfied and displayed con- 
tumelious arrogance. Ch'u's report says ; ' Your servant 
commanded him to come out into the courtyard and to 
kneel while I read to him your Imperial mandate. He 
came out, but flatly declined to kotow, rose rudely from his 
knees after hearing your decree and remarked : *' What the 
Emperor says is no doubt true enough; what need for me 
to answer ? I shall take the vows of the Buddhist priest- 

278 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

hood. When I am become a bonze, perhaps His Majesty 
will believe that I no longer am a rebel against the Throne." 
Even his servants seemed quite callous and undisturbed.' 
My object in sending Ch'u to Hsining was simply that 
he might tell my brother to keep his people in order. I 
fully expected him to amend his ways and lead a new life. 
It was surely to his own interest to obey the law, but his 
nature is both base and proud, and he knows not the respect 
due to a Sovereign from a subject. When he talks of 
intending to become a bonze and to forsake the world, 
does he really imagine that if he did so it would be the 
end of his duty to his elder brother, and that thenceforth 
he would part company from his Emperor? These are 
wild and wanton words indeed. During my father's 
lifetime these brothers of mine, Yiin Ssu, Yiin Chih, Yiin 
T'ang, Yiin O and Yiin Ti, by their wicked behaviour and 
heartless conspiracies, made His Majesty's life a burden 
to him, so that he never knew a moment's peace. After 
he had passed away, Yiin T'ang, on arriving here from the 
west, did not even take the trouble to salute the Empress 
Dowager or myself. Instead of proceeding at once to 
the Palace to inquire after my health, he wrote to the 
Board of Ceremonies and asked them to inform him of 
the prescribed etiquette. On entering the Palace of 
Imperial Longevity to do obeisance before his father's 
coffin, he saw that I was kneeling before it in worship, but 
he kept carefully out of my way, and his face showed no 
signs of sorrow, nor of affection for myself. When I went 
forward to meet him, he remained unmoved. La Hsi, 
who was standing by his side, pulled him forward towards 
me. Yiin T'ang turned and reviled La Hsi, after which 
he advanced in my direction, saying : ' I was trying to 
show you all possible respect, when La Hsi began dragging 
me forward. I am the Emperor's own brother, yet this 
fellow La Hsi treats me like a menial. If I have mis- 
behaved, let Your Majesty punish me. If I have done no 

279 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

wrong, then you ought to behead La Hsi in order to 
vindicate the law.' He had lost his temper and behaved 
in my presence like a common brawler. I could hardly 
believe my eyes. 

" On the occasion of my father's funeral Yiin Ti also 
showed gross disrespect for the solemn ceremonial and 
engaged in altercations with La Hsi and Fo Lun. On 
my issuing a decree to rebuke him Yiin Ssii came forward 
from out the tent and called out : ' Kneel down there,' 
showing plainly that Yiin Ti obeyed Yiin Ssii in all things, 
and that his word was law. 

" As for Yiin O, he had received an Imperial mission to 
proceed to Urga with a message from me to the Taranatha 
pontiff; on reaching Kalgan he feigned sickness and 
declined to proceed. To Yiin T'ang he sent private letters 
with a gift of horses. Yiin T'ang wrote in reply : ' Alas ! 
the opportunity has gone by, and we can now only regret 
that we have missed the chance.' What could this be 
but treason ? Moreover, I know that Yiin O has uttered 
incantations against my life. 

"Yiin Ssii's conduct is quite incorrigible; he and his 
brothers wilfully persist in treasonable and perfidious 
conduct. If I were to subject them all to a criminal 
trial death would be the only possible penalty. But I 
am too tender-heart'ed to adopt such a course; I desire 
my brothers to continue to draw the breath of life, so I 
shall not proceed further, in deference to what my father's 
wishes would have been." 

It seems certain that Yiin Ssii, aided by his brothers, 
came within an ace of seizing the person of Yung Cheng 
and the Throne. Yung Cheng feared to take any strong 
measures against the conspirators, because he felt that 
there was much discontent against his rule. A vigorous 
political campaign was being carried on in the south by 
Yiin Ssii's party, and it was not leniency which led the 
Emperor to spare his brother. A little later Yiin Ssii was 

280 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

again impeached for not repairing the ancestral temple in 
a seemly manner, and for not constructing the ancestral 
tablet of K'ang Hsi with due reverence. On this occa- 
sion Yung Cheng hysterically complained that these cares 
were rapidly driving him to distraction. He followed up 
this complaint with a decree attributing the inclemency 
of the weather to Heaven's dissatisfaction with his erring 
brethren. 

Yung Cheng now learned that his Commander-in-chief, 
Nien Keng-yao, who had deserved well of the State for 
his many victories over the Eleuths, was conspiring in the 
interests of Yiin Ssii. Gratitude was never characteristic 
of the Manchu rulers, except possibly in the case of the 
Old Buddha. The Emperor, greatly perturbed, decided 
that Nien Keng-yao must be removed at all costs. He was 
therefore charged with " indulging in wicked behaviour," 
with having ill-treated the inhabitants of Kokonor, and 
suppressed all reference to a famine which had raged 
there; he had shown " excessive zeal in slaughtering," and 
generally misled the Throne. Yung Cheng first trans- 
ferred him to the sinecure of Tartar General at Hangchow, 
but every one knew this step was merely preliminary, and 
that his final despatch was only delayed because the 
Emperor feared to act precipitately, lest he should bring 
about a revolt of the troops. But the wretched Commander 
lost nothing by waiting, and, meanwhile, the fact that the 
armour of his troops was reported to be falling to pieces, 
afforded an opportunity for more criticism of the unlucky 
Yiin Ssii, who, as head of the Board of Works, was respon- 
sible for its condition. " It is only too plain," wrote the 
Emperor, " that Yiin Ssii acts deliberately in not providing 
my army with proper armour. Our relations are like 
those of fire and water, or like two countries at war. His 
fixed idea is to be in the right himself and to put me in the 
wrong. My father knew his real nature as well as I do. 
When his foster-mother's husband, Yachi-pu, was beheaded 

281 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

for flagrant misconduct, my father issued a decree to all 
of us brothers, in which he said : ' Henceforward I disown 
Yiin Ssii, let him no more be called my son.' At that 
time Yiin Ssii appealed to me to stop the publication 
of the decree, saying that he would ' lose face ' if people 
knew our father's opinion of him. Accordingly, I put it 
away under seal, so as to spare my brother's feelings. 
But he is a monster utterly incapable of gratitude." 

On receiving the Imperial mandate, Nien Keng-yao 
flatly declined to leave his former post. " I am informed," 
says His Majesty, " that he consented to have his luggage 
sent on ahead, but has refused to depart himself, although 
the people were delighted on hearing of their persecutor's 
impending removal. He is now trying to pose as a 
meritorious officer and thus to make me appear in an 
unbecoming light for unjustifiably dismissing my old 
advisers. Let him hand over his charge to his successor 
forthwith." 

Yung Cheng's maternal uncle. Lung Ko-to, was also 
dismissed at this time for being concerned in the conspiracy. 
" I have treated both Nien Keng-yao and Lung Ko-to 
with absolute trust and regarded them as my right-hand 
men. But they have harboured rebellious thoughts and 
have rewarded my favour by conspiring against me, and 
have besides attacked my reputation. I refrain from 
inflicting the severest penalties because I feel that I 
myself am to blame for having been over trustful." 

With the contemptible meanness and lack of generosity 
which seems inseparable from Chinese mandarins in the 
mass, the Board of Appointments memorialised the 
Emperor as follows concerning Nien Keng-yao's case : 
" Your Majesty has shown this wicked sinner all possible 
benevolence, but the measure of his offences is full to the 
brim. Instead of proceeding straight to his new post 
he has had the effrontery to linger at Yi Cheng-hsien in 
Kiangsu, on the ground that ' its situation is central,' 

282 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

and he has dared to address you, saying : ' I shall await 
your further instructions here.' It is dilEficult to guess his 
real motives, but his abominable wickedness awakens 
universal detestation and exposes him to the sudden 
visitation of Heaven. We ask that he be cashiered, 
deprived of the Dragon robes and decorations conferred 
upon him in times past, and of the purple reins. ^ We 
request that he be summarily arrested and brought to 
Peking in chains, there to undergo the severest examina- 
tion (under torture) and then to be decapitated, as a 
warning to disloyal and ungrateful Ministers." To this 
the Emperor made reply : "I previously asked Nien 
Keng-yao for an explanation of his outrageous conduct, 
and his answer was : ' I have acted in everything in 
accordance with precedent and with my position as 
Commander-in-chief.' In times past, various Princes of 
my house have held this post, but, with the exception of 
Yiin Ti (who is a bad example to follow), none of them has 
ever dared to act with the lawless arrogance displayed 
by Nien Keng-yao. He has even gone beyond Yiin Ti's 
atrocities, and has slaughtered vast numbers of people. 
He ventures to adduce Yiin Ti as a precedent, as if Yiin 
Ti's treasonable conduct were justifiable. I now order 
Nien Keng-yao immediately to send in proper replies to 
my previous questions. Why is he delaying at Yi Cheng- 
hsien and neglecting his duties in this perfunctory way? 
On the receipt of his explicit reply I shall proceed to issue 
a decree in reply to the request of my Ministers for his 
arrest and decapitation." 

Nien Keng-yao had enjoyed almost unlimited power in 
the provinces, and his proteges held the most important 
posts throughout the country. All of these were now 
removed from their lucrative offices and their places 
taken by nominees of the opposing factions. It was ever 
thus with the Manchu dynasty; each reign witnessed the 
^ Usually bestowed only on Princes. 
283 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

downfall of its predecessor's favourites; and the Court, 
anxious to share in the plunder of their estates, invariably- 
acquiesced. 

Yung Cheng was very sensitive to public opinion and 
did not wish it to be said that " the bow was put away in 
obscurity after the birds had been shot," or, in other words, 
that he was ungrateful for services rendered to the State. 
Accordingly, he invited the high provincial authorities to 
memorialise as to what penalty should be inflicted on 
Nien; and he was careful to ask them to treat the case 
with complete impartiality. 

Still hesitating to deal with Yiin Ssii, for fear of precipi- 
tating a rebellion, it was Yung Cheng's policy gradually 
to rid himself of his brother's most prominent confederates. 
Two of his first cousins, sons of Prince Kung (a younger 
brother of K'ang Hsi), were sentenced to imprisonment, 
one for abetting Yiin Ssu and the other nominally for 
" making rude noises " in the Emperor's presence on the 
steps of the Palace of " the Peaceful Mean." In the same 
manner, Yung Cheng dealt with Yiin T'ang's case, on the 
pretext that one of his servants had beaten a graduate in 
Shansi. " During my father's lifetime," said the Emperor, 
" Yun T'ang was often admonished for unfilial conduct, and 
once he had the effrontery to reply : ' The worst you can do 
to me is to strip me of my paltry fourth class princedom.' 
Whenever he was given any fatiguing duty to perform 
he would say to my father : ' If you would only put me in 
prison in the company of my two eldest brothers, I should 
have a much easier life than I lead at present.' We were 
all shocked to hear such language from his lips. When the 
late Emperor died there was no vestige of tears in Yiin 
T'ang's eyes. Since my accession he has behaved with 
incurable haughtiness, and has always disobeyed my 
orders. From Hsining he sent a letter to Yiin O, couched 
in treasonable language. When I sent a messenger with a 
decree to rebuke him, he showed no fear and had the 

284 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

insolence to receive my envoy in his bedchamber, instead 
of kneehng to greet him in the outer court. He has 
squandered huge sums in Hsining, hoping to make friends 
for his treasonable designs; the people call him the ninth 
Prince of the blood, although he is not entitled to any such 
rank, being only a Beitze. I order, therefore, that he be 
stripped at once of his title and emoluments, and give 
warning that any one addressing him hereafter as Prince 
will do so at his peril." 

Lung Ko-to, Yung Cheng's maternal uncle, was the 
next victim ; all the Imperial gifts and honours were taken 
from him, which he had received from K'ang Hsi and from 
Yung Cheng himself. 

The chief conspirator against Yung Cheng's authority, 
his brother Yiin Ssu, appears to have been convinced that 
the Emperor would not dare to take extreme measures 
against him, for notwithstanding His Majesty's outspoken 
complaints and warnings, he continued to go his own 
unlawful ways. His next move was to send in a memorial 
recommending that the pay and allowances of the Imperial 
bannermen, and more particularly those of the three 
superior banners, should be raised, his evident object 
being to ingratiate himself with the Manchus nearest to 
the Throne. His Majesty's chief cause of complaint on this 
occasion was that Yiin Ssu, in private audience, had 
advised against increasing their emoluments. The Im- 
perial edict referring to this matter plaintively observes : 
" All the disorderly and disreputable members of the 
Household Banner Corps recently assembled at Yiin Ssu's 
house and started a most unseemly brawl. Yet Yiin Ssu 
never reported the occurrence, and it was only on the 
following day that I heard of it from my Ministers of the 
Household. Forthwith I issued a decree stating that no 
strangers could be permitted to enter this part of the 
Palace where an Imperial concubine resides (Yiin Ssii's 
mother lived with him, by special permission of the 

285 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Emperor). Furthermore, Yiin Ssu, on one of his drunken 
bouts, recently put to death one of his body-guard and 
failed to report the incident. The family of the murdered 
man brought complaint, but Yiin Ssii sent a eunuch to 
bid them hush the matter up. When I cross-questioned 
him about it he prevaricated, and it was only after con- 
fronting him with the facts that he hung his head and 
ceased to argue. This incident clearly reveals the man's 
hypocritical nature and his inveterate desire to earn 
golden opinions from every one while perpetrating acts of 
cold-blooded cruelty. I command the Court to recommend 
an appropriate penalty." The Court recommended that 
Yiin Ssii be deprived of his Imperial princedom and reduced 
to the level of a Mongol Prince; but for the moment 
Yung Cheng took no action on this advice. 

The Board of Punishments now brought in its final 
memorial respecting Nien Keng-yao, who had been brought 
in chains to Peking. They declared that the number of 
accusations against him made a pile higher than Mount 
Tai, while his offences reached depths lower than ever 
plummet sounded. He had committed five distinct 
acts of treason and sixteen acts of usurpation, one of 
which was to have the roads sprinkled with yellow earth 
in his honour and to have the streets cleared as for an 
Imperial procession. He had allowed the green audience 
tally (which is only used in the presence of the Son of 
Heaven) to be employed by officials seeking an interview 
v/ith him. He had the audacity to seat himself before the 
dragon tablet of the Emperor, instead of meekly kneeling 
upon his knees. He had worn the Dragon robes and 
seated himself in the position of the Emperor, facing 
south, when receiving the congratulations of his subordi- 
nates, who were made to kneel and prostrate themselves 
in the dust. He had committed thirteen distinct offences 
of gross presumption (one of which was the omission to 
publish an Imperial amnesty) and eighteen of greedy 

286 



^- 








THE COURT OF PEKING 

covetousness. There were twelve cases of arbitrary action, 
fifteen of appropriating Government funds ; nine cases of 
deceiving his Imperial master; six cases of unjust suspicion 
of subordinates, and five of wanton cruelty. The penalty 
for the gravest of these offences, committed singly, was the 
lingering death, and decapitation for many of the others. 
The memorial asked for his immediate execution by 
dismemberment; his father, brothers, sons, grandsons, 
uncles, nephews and cousins above the age of sixteen to 
be decapitated. All below that age, and all the female 
members of the family, to be given as slaves to the families 
of meritorious officers. The whole of his property to be 
confiscate to the Throne and his crimes published for 
the information of all men, as a solemn warning for ages 
to come, so that traitors and disloyal Ministers should 
hesitate to abuse their master's confidence and display 
atrocious cruelty. 

To this bloodthirsty indictment the Emperor replied : 
" Nien Keng-yao's treason is manifest to all men; it is 
the inevitable consequence of a nature made up of reckless 
presumption and gross depravity. But I call to mind his 
earlier services to my House during the Kokonor campaign, 
and am loth to inflict upon him the extreme penalty. I 
command that he be given over to the charge of Achitii, 
Prefect of the city, and be allowed to commit suicide. I 
have long been aware of his obstinate disposition and evil 
hardness of heart. He has always ignored his father's 
admonitions and treated him and his elder brother with 
callous contempt. I content myself with cashiering his 
father and brothers. The various Imperial gifts bestowed 
upon the family are to be returned to me. His sons 
are very numerous; one of them, Nien Fu, resembles 
his father in character and deeds ; let him be decapitated 
forthwith. Let the rest of his sons over fifteen years of 
age be banished for life to a malarious region on the 
remotest frontiers of Yunnan. His wife was a member of 

287 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the Imperial Clan; let her be sent back to her father's 
household. The million or more of his confiscated wealth 
is to be handed to the Viceroy of Hsian to cover the sums 
which Nien has embezzled from time to time. Property 
belonging to the remainder of his family is hereby exempted 
from confiscation, as an act of grace. Every member of 
his clan now holding office is to be cashiered, and as each 
of his sons or grandsons reaches the age of fifteen years 
he shall be banished for life and be exempt from all benefits 
of Imperial amnesties. Any one privily adopting one of 
his sons or grandsons shall be subject to the same penalty 
as Nien has incurred. His accomplice Tsou Lu is to be 
beheaded, and his family banished as slaves to the Amur." 
Having persuaded and frightened the Imperial Clan 
Court into a state of subservience and removed from 
his path the most powerful adherents of the rebellious 
brothers who had incurred his bitter enmity, the Emperor 
now proceeded to take his long-cherished vengeance upon 
Yiin Ssii. At the same time, he continued to keep a 
watchful eye upon public opinion in Peking and in the 
provinces, ever careful to put upon his actions a gloss of 
the utmost orthodoxy and flawless justice, to go down to 
posterity as the Superior Man. Before administering 
his justice, therefore, he proceeded to put a good com- 
plexion on his actions in advance and to prepare the public 
mind. 



288 



CHAPTER XII 
YUNG CHENG DISPENSES JUSTICE 

The Imperial Clan Court, having been purged of all 
injudicious sympathy for the Emperor's seditious brethren, 
dutifully memorialised him with a request that he should 
punish Yiin T'ang, "as a warning to all unfilial and 
disloyal persons." Yung Cheng, ingenuously enough, 
adopted his usual tactics for killing two birds with one 
stone, and ordered Yiin Ssii and Yiin Ti to consider the 
case of their accused brother and to recommend a suitable 
penalty for his offences. Their report was naturally not 
of a nature to satisfy the Court (which understood full 
well what was expected of it), and it proceeded to urge 
the Emperor to sentence Yiin Ssii to death by decapita- 
tion. Its members were, no doubt, anxious to make an 
end of these eternal wranglings and inquiries in a matter 
which, as they knew, could only end with the legal 
murder of the Emperor's brothers. 

On receiving this latest memorial of the Court, Yung 
Cheng delivered himself of a typical address to an audience 
convened at the Lake Palace, at which Yiin Ssii was 
present : 

" If, on your demand, I put Yiin Ssu to death," said 
he, " and he should hereafter be proved to have been 
innocent, you will by your act have murdered a descendant 
of our founder and thus place me in the position of an 
unjust Sovereign. If any of you feel in his heart that 
this man does not deserve death, let him now step out 
u 289 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

from his place and kneel on my right hand." Naturally 
enough, no one was anxious to accept this invitation, and 
all shouted unanimously : " He deserves to die." Yung 
Cheng then continued: "I fully endorse your opinion; 
the guilt of Yiin Ssu makes him worthy of death; 
nevertheless, I have no intention of beheading him. I 
remove him from my Clan because of the imprecations 
which he dared to utter in the presence of the whole 
Court, when he said that he hoped that I and my family 
would come to a bad end. I may deal with his wife on a 
further occasion." 

If the Emperor was sincere about lenient measures, he 
soon had cause to change his mind; it came to light that 
a Prince of the clan, named Lu Pin, had been a member 
of Yiin Ti's party at Hsining and had been employed by 
that Prince to convey certain letters to Yiin Ssu at 
Peking. These letters spoke definitely of a plot for the 
killing of Yung Cheng, and added disrespectful references 
to the Emperor's alleged illegitimacy, respecting which 
matter Yung Cheng was peculiarly sensitive. Worse than 
all, when Yung Cheng demanded an explanation, Lu Pin 
spoke gratefully of Yiin Ssii as his benefactor. The 
result was perpetual imprisonment for Lu Pin, while Yiin 
Ssu was confined hi the Forbidden City in a high- walled 
courtyard, two " respectable eunuchs " being told off to 
guard him. 

At this point of the tragic business, Yung Cheng dis- 
played his vindictiveness in a form so derogatory to the 
dynasty of a great State that his edicts read like the 
utterances of a petulant child reviling its playmates, 
rather than the decrees of the world's most ancient Throne. 
First of all, he formally prescribed for Yiin Ssu and Yiin 
T'ang titles of reproach, by which they were to be known 
officially, namely, " That disreputable person " for the 
one, and " Black-hearted monster " for the other. As 
for Yiin Ti, the third and least serious offender, he was 

290 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

dealt with at once, to clear the ground for the principal 
culprits, in the following decree : 

" Recently I sent Yiin Ti to live near my father's 
sepulchre in the fond hope that the contemplation of 
that holy spot might move him to remorse. But he 
has shown no contrite spirit ; on the contrary he becomes 
daily more incorrigible. Lately an attempt at rebellion 
has been fomented in the neighbourhood of the Imperial 
tombs, and most abominable statements have been cir- 
culated about my moral character. I therefore order 
that Yiin Ti be sent back at once to Peking. He will 
hereafter be confined in the Palace at the back of the 
Coal Hill, close to the hall of Imperial Longevity, where 
rest the portraits of my parents. Perchance he may be 
moved to repentance by their august proximity. His 
son Pai Chi is thoroughly evil and will be imprisoned with 
his father." 

The Emperor goes on : " ' That disreputable person ' 
and ' Black-hearted monster,' with Yiin Ti, have been 
wont to form friendships with the lowest classes of society 
in the fomenting of their conspiracy against me; they 
consorted with bonzes, lamas, physicians, soothsayers, 
astrologers, physiognomists and even with mimes, barbers 
and Europeans. The bond-slaves of the highest officials 
were invited into their houses and treated as honoured 
guests, to be used as auxiliaries to their malevolent 
designs. If they wanted to ruin any member of the 
opposite party they would invent the most wicked and 
preposterous stories about him, and have them circulated 
by these creatures. In this way they expected to mislead 
the foolish and unthinking mob. My father was exposed 
to their calumnies and had always to be on his guard 
against their base plots. On my accession a common 
tea-house report was in circulation to the effect that I 
was a confirmed drunkard. I was accused of habitually 
passing the livelong night in carousing with Lung K'o-to, 

291 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

our revels ending with both of us completely in our cups. 
As the result of our alleged orgies, Lung K'o-to was said 
to be reduced to such a state of blind intoxication as to 
require bearers to carry him out from the Forbidden City. 
It was even alleged that he was so completely oblivious 
to decorum as to refuse to quit my Palace, and that he 
and I, both tipsy, would indulge in common brawls. I 
was accused of sleeping off my debauch in my clothes on 
the spot where I finally collapsed. When Tsai Ting came 
to Peking from Szechuan and was summoned to audience 
he soon perceived me to be a man of most temperate 
habits. One day, naively enough, he memorialised me 
as follows : ' In Szechuan it was common gossip that 
Your Majesty was usually intoxicated, but since I have 
come to Peking I have observed, after constant attendance 
on Your Majesty's person day and night, that you never 
touch a drop of liquor.' So, too, Li Chen-yang on 
arriving here was received in audience several times ; 
before finally taking leave he said to me : ' I have re- 
peatedly heard that since your accession you have indulged 
habitually in Bacchanalian orgies; but after having had 
several opportunities of seeing you at audience, I notice 
that Your Majesty is always at work and your breath 
betrays no indication of the liquor habit.' Many other 
officials have written or spoken in the same sense, the 
fact, of course, being that ' That disreputable person ' and 
his brother were habitual wine-bibbers themselves and 
have been often reproved by me for their shameless 
drunkenness. Therefore they callously invented this 
accusation, and caused it to be rumoured and believed 
all over the Empire that I was a hopeless drunkard. 
The whole of my Court knows well that I cannot stomach 
wine at all.^ Of a truth, men who will invent such false- 
hoods about me are capable of anything. 

^ Nevertheless, the charge was true enough; Yung Cheng was 
addicted to drinking bouts, as was K'ang Hsi before him. 

292 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" In yesterday's Court Gazette I note the following : 
* On the occasion of the Dragon Festival the Princes and 
Court all paid their respects to His Majesty at Yuan 
Ming-yuan, after which the Emperor left the Palace and 
entered the Dragon barge, while the Court followed him 
in thirty other boats. Music was played and His Majesty 
presented every one with " rush wine " in honour of the 
festival. After an excursion lasting some hours the 
Emperor returned.' 

" Now, if the Lord of the Universe, who receives tribute 
from every region under Heaven, were pleased to take a 
boating excursion on a holiday and to invite his Court to 
partake of wine, it would only be the perpetuation of an 
ancient ceremony and in accordance with the example 
set by sage Sovereigns of antiquity. But, as it happens, 
I issued special instructions that none of my Court were 
to come out from Peking to pay their respects, and I 
confined myself to receiving the Princes actually resident 
at the Summer Palace. It is highly improper of the 
Gazette to insert such false news, and I direct the Board 
of Punishments to investigate the matter and to find 
out whence the statement emanated. It is necessary to 
issue this as a warning to those who calumniate their 
Emperor." 

The time v/as now come for less " lenient " measures. 
Yung Cheng therefore proceeded to address his servile 
Court in a long and bitter harangue recounting his brothers' 
misdeeds, evidently intended as a preliminary to their 
happy despatch. The report of this speech is too long 
to give in full, but a few of its choicest passages will 
serve to show the ingenuous puerilities in which the 
Son of Heaven saw fit to indulge. " None of you know 
my brothers' characters as I do," he said; " I have had 
the misfortune to live with them for thirty years. By 
bribery and corruption they have built up around them- 
selves a solid phalanx of debauched and treacherous 

293 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

criminals. There was not a depraved priest, physician, 
soothsayer, rowdy, actor or European, who was not of 
their gang. There is no doubt at all that these wicked 
minions shortened my father's life by their misdeeds, 
and for this ' That disreputable person ' and his brothers 
are chiefly to blame. ... It is very certain that if such 
a man were to ascend the Throne he would involve the 
ancestral shrines in dire peril. As for the ' Black-hearted 
monster,' he is only a fat fool, who combines fiabbiness 
with clumsy forms of deceit and a shameless wallowing 
in debauch. His late Majesty regarded him as more 
brute than man, while all of us, his brothers, looked upon 
him as a buffoon and a common butt. No one realised 
more clearly his blear-eyed stupidity than ' That dis- 
reputable person ' ; nevertheless, he used him persistently 
to forward his evil designs. 

" These things being so, how came it about that, in 
my father's lifetime, the people all acclaimed ' That 
disreputable person ' as a Buddha, when he took no 
part in Government affairs and had earned no title to 
fame ? It was because his evil associates never wearied 
of singing his praises and thus induced the unthinking 
mob to make an idol of him. If he were really a good 
man, no words of mine could affect the popular judgment. 
My criticism would be wasted. Now that I have exposed 
his real character I shall be much interested to hear 
what resemblance any of you can trace between him and 
the Buddha ! In my father's reign it would have been 
an easy matter for me to have gained popularity by cheap 
displays of patronage; I preferred, however, to remain 
in honourable obscurity and to minister to my father's 
wants. I never schemed for the Throne, and whenever 
any of my brothers offended my father I always inter- 
vened to shield the culprit. This was not so much in 
the interest of my brothers, as because I dreaded the 
effect of excessive wrath on my venerable parent. Had 

294 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

I ever coveted the Throne there would have been no 
occasion for me to cherish resentment against my brothers, 
once my ambition had been gratified and I had become 
the Sovereign. My quarrel with them rests on other 
and broader grounds. During my father's reign lavish 
fortune emptied her horn upon me, and it would have 
been beneath my dignity to associate, still less to quarrel, 
with men of my brothers' low type. 

" If they have hoped to turn me from my duty and to 
make me cease from my merciless campaign against 
corruption in high places they must indeed take me 
for a coward. When the people presume to call ' That 
disreputable person ' a Buddha, which of his devilish 
qualities, I wonder, appeals to their imagination? Is a 
monster of impiety and disloyalty worthy of the title of 
saint? If he be a Buddha, he is the first of the type in 
history ! Why is it that baseless rumours are circulated 
of the nation's hatred towards me? Am I to suppose 
it is because I have punished those who plot against 
my life and Throne ? 

" Our Manchu house has now held its Imperial sway 
for a century, and the clans have basked in the benevolence 
of my four predecessors. In due course I succeeded to 
this goodly heritage, and even as one sun reigns in Heaven, 
so only one Sovereign may rule the Empire. It is incre- 
dible that my loyal Manchus should swerve from their 
devotion to their sovereign lord and allow themselves 
to be misled by the seditious arguments of evil traitors 
and fratricidal monsters. I am convinced that my present 
decree will come to them as a great shock, and that the 
wickedness of ' That disreputable person ' and his brothers 
will be like the revelation of a lightning flash. 

" The former memorial of the Princes and Court, which 
urged the immediate decapitation of my three pernicious 
brothers, was absolutely warranted by the facts. Death 
is the penalty which they merit, and if I decide to execute 

295 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

them no one can possibly blame me. But for the present, 
I am willing that they should draw the breath of life yet 
a while longer." 

The Court next advised that the two offending Princes 
should be dismembered and that the whole of their 
estates be confiscated. It recounted the crimes of " That 
disreputable person " under forty headings, of which 
two may be quoted as fair samples : 

*' (1) On the occasion of his mother's death he showed 
disgraceful disregard of etiquette, by affecting excess of 
grief; even after the hundred days of mourning were 
over, he needed to be assisted as he walked. At the 
same time, while professing to observe thrifty simplicity 
in his diet, he was having luxurious fare brought him 
privily to his chamber (which adjoined his mother's 
cofhn), through the connivance of his brothers. On this 
he regaled himself in epicurean style, his table groaning 
under its weight of viands. When the days of mourning 
were over he had actually put on weight, and his face 
indicated every symptom of gross living. (2) His wife 
has always behaved in a most unwomanlike manner, and 
the late Emperor issued orders that she was to betake 
herself back to her own family. One of Yiin Ssii's con- 
cubines recommended him to apologise to the Emperor 
on her behalf, but he angrily replied : ' I am her husband. 
Who ever heard of a husband interceding with another 
man about his own womenkind ? ' This same concubine 
was so greatly distressed by his habitual and gross 
debauchery that she hanged herself." 

After preferring a number of equally puerile charges 
against the " Black-hearted monster " and Yiin Ti, and 
quoting the dictum of K'ang Hsi that rebellious sons 
deserved death as public enemies, the Court requested 
Yung Cheng to order the decapitation of the three offend- 
ing Princes, " as a warning to traitors for ten thousand 
generations." To this the Emperor replied that he found 

296 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

himself in a position of extreme embarrassment ; evidently, 
brothers like these were not to be moved by advice nor 
to be reformed by example. Many details had been 
omitted in the memorial, and their conduct was even 
blacker than his Court was aware. If he refrained from 
putting them to death he would be guilty of irreverence 
to his ancestors. He could not allow any pain he might 
feel to prevent him from carrying out a disagreeable duty. 
Yiin Ti's guilt was less than that of his brothers', and 
perhaps he might yet repent if granted a reprieve. As 
to the other two, he was in an awkward position and needed 
time for further reflection. He hoped that the Empire 
would appreciate the difficulties under which he laboured, 
and would believe that he was acting solely so as to 
secure law and order for the country and the tranquillity 
of the ancestral shrines and tutelary deities. 

No one knew better than Yung Cheng that a public 
execution of his brothers would create a strong public 
opinion against him; he knew full well the strength of 
their party, and had to be wary, if he wished to avoid 
a rebellion. His illegitimacy ^ was matter of common 
report, and he was hated for his tyranny and greed, so 

^ The Chinese annahst " Born out of Time," already referred to 
{vide supra, p. 230), gives the following explanation of the much- 
discussed illegitimacy of Yung Cheng. The Emperor K'ang Hsi, not 
content v/ith the multitudinous domesticity of the Palace, had a 
roving eye and a highly susceptible nature. In one of his excursions 
to a temple fair, he was struck by the beauty of a young married 
woman, and having sent a eunuch to discover her identity, invited the 
lady to take up her residence in the Palace, and conferred upon her 
husband (named Wei) a lucrative post. Six months after her installa- 
tion as an Imperial concubine of the fifth rank, the Lady Wuya (as 
she was called) gave birth to a son, who was recognised as K'ang Hsi's 
fourth born, but who (as His Majesty well knew) was no son of his. 
The Monarch remained devoted to Lady Wuya, and eventually con- 
ferred the succession upon her son, who became the Emperor Yung 
Cheng. The conspiracy of Yung Cheng's brothers against him is 
explained and justified by this annalist, on the grounds of his illegitimacy 
and usurpation, but his narrative contains much internal evidence to 
show that he relies upon a fertile imagination for most of his facts. 

297 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

he hastened slowly. About two months after the issue 
of his decree postponing judgment in his brother's case, 
the Viceroy of Chihli sent word from Pao Ting-fu, where 
" Black-hearted monster " was imprisoned, that the 
Prince had died of dysentery. The fact was that he 
had been strangled by the Emperor's order. In his 
decree, rejoicing over the victim's death as a judgment 
of offended Heaven, he alludes again to the tale of his 
offences : " Many years ago there was a disreputable and 
impecunious native of Shansi in Peking, who became 
' Black-hearted monster's ' chosen friend. This man 
had received presents of money from the Prince and 
was so grateful that, when his patron was banished to 
Hsining, he, too, proceeded thither and handed him a 
letter in which he had written : ' I should like to devote 
myself to the cause of a virtuous Emperor, and do not 
wish to be the subject of a cruel and unjust Sovereign. 
I mean to stir up rebellion among the troops and people 
of Shansi and Ssuch'uan in order to overthrow the present 
Emperor and to deliver my good master from bondage.' 
Yet when ' Black-hearted monster ' heard these terrible 
utterances of rankest treason, he merely remarked : 
' Oh ! we brothers cannot expect to secure the Throne.' 
Then, too, when he was at Hsining, he sent back some 
of his eunuch staff to Peking and gave them as parting 
gifts expensive articles, such as European watches and 
other curios. It was plain that he wished to curry 
favour so as to further his designs on the Throne. When 
I heard of his sickness some time ago I ordered the 
officials to send a competent physician to treat the 
dysentery from which he was suffering. 

" But the cup of his offences was full to the very brim ; 
Heaven and my ancestors, against whom he had so 
grievously sinned, were about to visit him with death. 
Truly, the way of the wicked does not prosper; the 
wages of sin is as certain as death, or as the reverberations 

298 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

of an echo. He has escaped punishment at the hands 
of man, but was not fated to escape the wrath of offended 
Heaven. The Viceroy is to arrange for his burial, and 
his family is to be brought back from Hsining. I am 
to be informed when their arrival may be expected. 
When I summoned ' Black-hearted monster ' here from 
Hsining, I was much astonished to learn that he had 
been placed in shackles, although I had given no orders 
to this effect. The persons who adjusted the shackles 
fastened them very loosely, so that he was able to remove 
them from his limbs. I said nothing about this infor- 
mality at the time, because I did not wish it to be thought 
that I was dealing over harshly with my brother. But 
the offence is unpardonable, and the parties responsible 
are to be placed in chains and subjected to severe 
examination." 

One brother having died, Yung Cheng thought to 
deceive posterity (his own Court were too well aware of 
the facts to be thus hoodwinked) by asking the Ministers 
whether they thought he could safely pardon " Disre- 
putable person " now that one of the conspirators was 
dead. Officials from all parts of the Empire were asked 
to report on this delicate question. 

Yung Cheng next ordered the arrest and trial of Ch'u 
Tsung, the Viceroy of Kan-su and former gaoler of his 
dead brother, on the ground that he had not reported 
" Black-hearted monster's " dealings with the European 
Mu Ching-yuan, and had even memorialised the Emperor, 
saying that the Prince's popularity was a source of 
danger to the Throne, and that it would be best to bring 
him back to Peking, where he could be more carefully 
guarded. The Emperor observed that the Viceroy was 
evidently trying to frighten him with empty threats. 
" Knowing that he was guilty of gross disrespect in thus 
memorialising, he has tried to cover up his fault in a 
cheap attempt to win my favour by placing my brother 

299 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

in shackles on the journey from Kansu. His conduct 
was calculated to turn public opinion against me for 
undue cruelty, and if he meant the man to be in shackles 
he should at least have seen that they were not loosely 
fastened." 

A month later " That disreputable person " was re- 
ported to be dying of blood-spitting in his prison at the 
Coal Hill, near the Palace. He, too, was put to death by 
the Emperor's orders. The Court asked that his corpse 
might be decapitated, a punishment which the merciful 
Monarch graciously remitted. 

Of the third brother, Yiin Ti, who was still confined 
near " the august portraits of his father and mother," 
in the Hall of Imperial Longevity, Yung Cheng said : 
" Yiin Ti's guilt is less than that of the two prime offenders. 
On a previous occasion he was furious with my father 
for placing Yiin Ssii under arrest, and even threatened 
me for not pleading on his behalf. It was then that he 
expressed a desire to die. I am, therefore, sending to ask 
if he is still of the same mind." The message was 
" When our father was living you said you would like 
to die with Yiin Ssii ; now he is dead, aiid if you so desire, 
you are welcome to take a look at his remains. You are 
also at liberty to .kill yourself by his side if you see fit." 
To this Yiin Ti replied : "I was befooled by ' That 
disreputable person,' and have no desire whatever to 
see him again, now that Heaven has punished him as 
he deserved." On this the Emperor observed : " The 
above reply would indicate that Yiin Ti is inclining towards 
a better mind, but it is not improbable that he only 
adopts this attitude in order to save his neck, and still 
hopes to be revenged against me by and by. It is hard 
to say, but for the moment I commute his sentence of 
decapitation, and shall watch him carefully in future. 
If he does not amend, the sentence will be duly carried 
out. As to my brother Yiin O, he is only half-witted, 

300 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

and it would be unfair to sentence him to the same 
penalty as the two chief criminals. He will be confined 
in prison for life, and for him the extreme penalty is 
hereby remitted." 

Some years later the Emperor imprisoned his third 
elder brother, Yiin Chih, Prince Ch'eng, on the Coal Hill 
(that favourite site for princely offenders), and he, too, 
died by violence. The eldest brother, Yiin Ch'ih, was 
still confined in his own residence, and died in 1734. 
On Ch'ien Lung's accession the surviving Princes were 
all released and their titles were restored to them. In 
1778, that Sovereign re-opened the process against Yiin Ssii 
and Yiin T'ang, and posthumously restored their original 
titles, replacing them on the Imperial Clan register. 

The remainder of Yung Cheng's reign was disturbed 
by sedition all over the Empire, notably in Hunan and 
Ssiichuan. Repressive measures of the sternest kind 
were carried out and many thousands were beheaded; 
nevertheless, scholars and patriots wrote violently against 
the Manchu dynasty, pointing out that the clan' s internal 
dissensions and the Emperor's vindictive policy were a 
source of unrest to the whole country. Hundreds of 
seditious pamphlets were seized by the authorities, but 
they served their purpose in sowing in the minds of the 
people seeds of distrust, forerunners of rebellion against 
the Tartar rule. The Emperor, who had a keen sense 
of the need of moral qualities on the Throne and the 
value of popular endorsement of its government, issued 
many long explanations intended to reassure the public 
mind concerning the death of his brothers. Edicts, in 
the form of apologice for the Manchu dynasty, were 
promulgated throughout all the land; they ran into 
hundreds of thousands of words. Yung Cheng realised 
that the people, and especially the literati^ who had 
prospered and rejoiced under the wise and dignified rule 
of K'ang Hsi, were already becoming restive under his 

301 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

own, and that the ominous word " aUen " was again in 
men's mouths. He made it, therefore, his special business 
to defend the Manchu's ahen origin, quoting Mencius to 
show that some of the best Monarchs of China's revered 
antiquity (such as the sage Emperor Shun) had come 
of a foreign stock.^ But the fact was patent that his 
misrule was rapidly undermining the prestige of the 
house of Nurhachi, and it may safely be said that, had 
it continued, the dynasty would soon have gone under. 
His death came as a great relief to Peking and to the 
provinces alike. 

A modern Chinese commentator, referring to the 
cruelty and base ingratitude of the treatment meted 
out to General Men Keng-yao by his Sovereign,^ observes : 
" How can a dynasty which produces Emperors of this 
type hope to retain the mandate of Heaven ? and where, 
throughout all its annals, do we find instances of loyalty 
and generous sympathy for those who have sacrificed all 
in its cause ? All the Sovereigns of the dynasty — K'ang 
Hsi, Yung Cheng, Chia Ch'ing and the rest — are alike in 
this respect. Only in the edicts and actions of the 
great Tzii Hsi do we find occasional gleams of nobler 
impulses, qualities of generosity and loyalty which evoke 
the more admiration when we compare them with the 
record of her predecessors, face-saving hypocrites and 
literary humbugs all." 

^ Precisely the same arguments were used by the last Regent, when 
terrified by the advance of the revolutionary movement in 1911. 

2 At the conclusion of a long and very literary farewell message to 
this old and trusted servant of the State, when conveying to him the 
Throne's permission to commit suicide, Yung Cheng observed : " As 
I peruse the State paper, I weep bitterly ; but as Lord of the universe, 
I am bound to display unswerving justice in the matter of rewards and 
punishments. I remit the penalty of decapitation and grant you the 
privilege of suicide. With lavish generosity and merciful forbearance 
I have spared the lives of the rest of your family, with one exception. 
You must be stock or stone, if, even at the moment of death, you fail 
to shed tears of joy and gratitude for the benefits conferred upon you 
by the Imperial master whom you have so foully betrayed. 

302 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Nevertheless, beyond the turbid atmosphere of his 
domestic circle and fratricidal activities, Yung Cheng- 
was a painstaking and earnest worker, with a good 
literary style and scholarly ambition, virtues which have 
done much to preserve his memory from utter contempt. 
He had a marked penchant for writing annotations on 
memorials and impromptu rescripts, and to do him justice 
he did it very well. Yung Cheng's rescripts were pub- 
lished by his successor, the Emperor Ch'ien Lung ; together 
with the memorials to which they were appended, they 
fill some sixty large volumes, a monumental witness to 
His Majesty's industry.^ In certain cases he was wont 
to append caustic or ironical comments; in others he 
would dismiss the memorialist's statement with a laconic 
" Ridiculous " or " Quite absurd." In one instance his 
marginal note says : " You evidently take me for a fool, 
but you forget that I was over forty when I came to the 
Throne, and that I know quite well how my officials 
make their money. Before I came to the Throne I had 
heard your name connected with a discreditable case of 
bribery. In fact, if I mistake not, you then endeavoured 
to secure my influence with His late Majesty by offering 
me presents. Have a care; my eye is upon you." To 
another memorialist he writes : " I do not know you by 
sight, but your reputation is well known to me, and 
I admire the efforts you are making to govern your 

^ The Regent, Prince Ch'un (appointed by Tzu Hsi in November 1908, 
to administer the Government during the minority of the child Emperor, 
his son, Hslian T'ung) imitated this example during the brief period 
of his singularly ineffective Regency. A remarkably stupid man, 
and timid withal, he realised the Chinese people's innate reverence for 
a scholar, and so endeavoured to gain fame from literary rescripts to 
memorials. But having no scholarship of his own, he took the wise 
precaution of getting these written by Chang Chih-tung, the ablest 
pen in the Empire, and hoped for some share of the credit for their 
excellence. Unfortunately, Chang Chih-tung died, and thereafter 
the Regent abandoned his habit of literary rescripts, contenting him- 
self with an occasional " Good," in an infantine hand, as a marginal 
note to some platitude which pleased his fancy. 

303 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

province." Again, a certain official, on being rebuked by 
Yung Cheng, replied that shame and fear had combined 
in his mind, so that he knew not how to bear his remorse. 
Yung Cheng replied : " I fully believe in your fears, but 
I have my doubts as to your shame and remorse. Of 
these I shall judge by your future conduct rather than 
by your present protestations." In criminal cases he 
was apt to assume the role of counsel for the defence, or 
rather of a friendly judge of appeal. In one instance the 
provincial authorities recommended decapitation for a 
wife who had murdered her husband. After reviewing 
the evidence, as presented in the memorial, Yung Cheng 
observed : " I have no doubt but that this woman mur- 
dered her husband for proposing to her that she should 
earn money for him by prostitution; her conduct was 
wholly admirable, and deserves no punishment whatsoever. 
On the contrary, I order that a memorial arch be erected 
in her honour." In all cases where he suspected 
treasonable writing, he showed great harshness. Scholars 
frequently criticised his unpopular government by in- 
nuendo, and on them he invariably inflicted the death 
penalty. For instance, when a certain poet wrote : 
" To-morrow at dawn I shall enter the bright capital " 
(Ming chao ju ohing tu), the Emperor's attention was 
drawn to the verses and to the fact that these characters 
might also mean (and probably were intended to mean) 
" The Ming dynasty enters the Ching, or Manchu, capital." 
At any rate, this was the interpretation which Yung Cheng 
chose to place on the line, and the poet expiated his 
double-entendre on the scaffold. 

Yung Cheng was by nature suspicious and inconstant; 
but certain of his favourite Ministers enjoyed his goodwill 
to the end, and it is possible that, but for his unfortunate 
family troubles, he might have left a better record. 
Despite his persecution of the Christian religion, more 
than one of the Roman Catholic fathers then living at 

304 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Peking has Avritten of his pubHc and private Hfe in terms 
that imply certain good quaUties in his character. ^ Also 
his handling of affairs, outside those of his family circle, 
seems to indicate a certain sense of humour. For in- 
stance, one of his favourite Ministers, named T'ien Wen- 
ching, was a good administrator, but a poor scholar. 
T'ien, aware of his own shortcomings, relied for the 
performance of the literary part of his duties on the 
services of a notable scholar, named Wu, whose work 
is quoted and admired to this day. When T'ien was 
serving as Director-General of the Yellow River Con- 
servancy, it was Wu who advised him to impeach Yung 
Cheng's uncle, the Duke Lung K'o-to, brother of the 
Empress Dowager, an act which secured for him high 
promotion and Imperial favour. Mr. Secretary Wu, who 
had sources of private information about the Court, had 
learned that His Majesty was growing weary of his 
uncle's presence and patronising ways,^ and therefore 
advised his employer to indite this memorial of impeach- 
ment, at a moment when the Emperor was seeking a 
pretext for ridding himself of his uncle. T'ien's fortune 
was made, but he failed to display the kind of gratitude 
that his secretary expected, and Wu, greatly offended, 
resigned from his service. From that day, T'ien's me- 
morials and despatches lost the literary quality which Yung 
Cheng expected in his high officials, and drew from the 
fastidious Monarch sarcastic rescripts and criticisms as 
to their contents and style. Finally, T'ien was compelled 
to implore Wu to return to him, which the secretary 
consented to do only on condition that he was to be 
paid a " shoe " of silver (50 taels) every morning before 
the day's work began. By his aid, T'ien recovered and 

^ Vide Uistoire Generale de la Chine, Mailla, Vol. XI, p. 370. 

2 Liing K'o-to had been very intimate with Yung Cheng before his 
accession, and had been instrumental in persuading K'ang Hsi to 
appoint him to the Throne. 

X 305 



ANNALSfAND MEMOIRS OF 

retained the Imperial favour; but Yung Cheng was well 
aware of the authorship of the literary gems in T'ien's 
official documents, for on one occasion, when the Minister 
had sent in a memorial inquiring after his health, the 
Emperor's rescript read : " Our health is good ; how goes 
that of Mr. Secretary Wu? " Eventually, after T'ien's 
death, the Emperor engaged Wu's services for the Palace. 
Whatever Yung Cheng's defects, however bad his rule, 
he was, at least, not guilty of the ignominious folly which 
led a later generation of his dynasty to give their con- 
fidence, and delegate their authority, to the eunuch 
servants of the Palace, that crime against the State to 
which Tzu Hsi (guilty of it herself) ascribed the downfall 
of the Manchu power. Yung Cheng kept his eunuchs 
in their proper place, employing them as servants and 
actors, but allowing them no voice in the administration 
of the Government nor any recognised opportunities for 
levying blackmail on the official class. Of his attitude 
towards the eunuchs of his own household it is recorded 
that, on a certain occasion, one of them, an admirable 
actor and raconteur, had delighted the Court by an 
unusually excellent performance. Upon the conclusion 
of the play the Emperor summoned the man to his own 
table, gave him fgod and wine, and ordered him to tell 
some theatrical stories. Elated by his master's favour 
the eunuch chatted away, and eventually made allusion 
to the part of Cheng Tan, which he had just been playing 
(in a famous piece called " Cheng Tan slaying his son "). 
At last he made bold to remark : "In olden times this 
Cheng Tan was Department Magistrate of Ch'ang Chou-fu 
in Kiangsu. Can Your Majesty ^ tell me who is now 
the Department Magistrate at Ch'ang Chou?" (This 
he meant as a delicate hint that the Emperor should 
bestow upon him the post of magistrate, a thing strictly 

^ He used the colloquial expression " Yeh " (Master) employed by 
eunuchs in addressing the Emperor. 

306 



[THE COURT OF PEKING 

forbidden by the dynastic house-law.) The Emperor's 
countenance darkened, says the chronicler, till it became 
black as thunder. " How dare you, a eunuch minion, 
ask Us about Our officials? What have you to do with 
such matters ? " He then called to his bodyguard : " Have 
the creature beaten with the heavy bamboo here and now ; 
We will witness his chastisement." The eunuch whined 
for mercy, but Yung Cheng was obdurate. After a few 
strokes of the bamboo the culprit fainted; the Emperor 
then ordered that he be ejected from the Palace and 
banished to a pestilential part of Yunnan, as a slave to 
the Manchu garrison troops of that frontier province. 

Despite his proscription of the Roman Catholic mission 
and the expulsion of the priests to Macao and Canton, 
Yung Cheng's attitude towards the head of this religion 
was courteous and even friendly. ^ This may have been 
due to recollection of the benefits derived by his father's 
and grandfather's intercourse with the Jesuit fathers, or 
to a vague sense that the spiritual Chief of men, so devoted 
and so learned, deserved the respect of scholars, even 
though, for political reasons, the activities of the missions 
had to be suppressed throughout his Empire. At all 
events, the annals of his reign record more than one 
instance of a courteous and conciliatory attitude towards 
the Vatican. Witness the following letter addressed to 
Pope Benedict XIII in the year 1725. 

" A decree to the religious Prince of the West. I have 
perused your memorial and have examined the tribute 
which you have forwarded. Your evident sincerity 
pleases me. His Majesty the late Emperor showered 

^ Cliinese chroniclers aver that many letters wT-itten to each other by 
the conspiring Princes were in the Portuguese language, which they 
had learned from the priests at Court. One of Yung Cheng's decrees 
refers to letters written to Yun T'ang by " his secretary, Maotai tungpao," 
and found sewed into the socks of a groom-messenger, which were 
" amazingly like the European characters," but which none of the 
Europeans then in Peking could (or would) recognise. 

307 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

his bountiful protection on all alike; his love knew no 
limits. At his death every one was smitten with un- 
speakable grief. On my accession to the Great Inherit- 
ance I strove earnestly to follow my father's good 
example in all things. You, oh Prince, reside in a far 
land; nevertheless, you have sent your special envoy 
with a memorial expressing gratitude for the late Em- 
peror's benefits and with best wishes for my own prosperity. 
Your language betokens a dutiful sincerity and respect. 
I highly applaud your devotion and have shown every 
courtesy to your envoy. Regarding the Europeans 
resident in China, I fully recognise that all mankind are 
members of one family and have frequently told them 
that if they behave themselves with becoming circum- 
spection, practising a wise aloofness and virtue, and 
obeying the laws of the land, I shall ever bestow upon 
them my compassionate favour. In addition to con- 
ferring this decree upon yourself, I am forwarding by the 
hand of your envoy sundry gifts of silks and rolls of satin. 
Do you, oh Prince, receive them reverently and appreciate 
my friendliness towards you." 

And again, when the Pope wrote asking for the release 
of two priests who had been imprisoned at Canton for 
several years. His Majesty replied, graciously enough, 
that, after investigation of their cases, he found they 
were not too serious to benefit by the general amnesty 
published in honour of his accession to the Throne. He 
therefore willingly acceded to the Pope's request, and 
added that, even if His Holiness had taken no steps in 
the matter, he would have set the prisoners free " to 
give proof of his sense of the common brotherhood of 
the human race and of his own far-reaching compassion." 

There is no doubt that this fussy, terror-ridden Monarch 
often meant well enough. One of his favourite Ministers 
has left it on record that in his youth he made for himself 
two rules (which fittingly illustrate the nature and value 

308 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

of his " far-reaching compassion "). One was, always 
to avoid stepping on the shadow of anybody's head, 
since that would bring misfortune to the substance. 
The other, never to tread upon an insect. 

According to many Chinese chroniclers, Yung Cheng 
was murdered by the widow of a Hunanese named Lu, 
who had been dismembered on a charge of treasonable 
conspiracy. The story, which finds no place in the 
dynastic annals, goes to show that this woman succeeded 
in getting access to the pleasure-garden at Yuan-Ming-yuan 
and, concealing herself there, lay in wait for the Emperor 
and stabbed him to the heart ; after which she committed 
suicide. 



309 



CHAPTER XIII 

HIS MAJESTY CH'IEN LUNG 

Ch'ien Lung ascended the Dragon Throne at the age 
of twenty-five, in 1736^ and reigned over China for sixty 
years, at the end of which cycle he abdicated in favour of 
his son Chia Ch'ing. Judged by the verdict of his con- 
temporaries and of posterity in his own country, as well 
as by the evidence of European observers, he was beyond 
question the ablest administrator and the wisest ruler 
that China had known for several centuries. By his good 
government, as well as by his successful wars in Sungaria, 
Central Asia, Burmah and Tibet, he completely restored 
the prestige of the Manchus, which his predecessor had 
seriously undermined. In his private life, he appears to 
have been distinguished by qualities of sincerity, broad- 
mindedness and courage which alone suffice to raise him 
far above the level of his predecessors and successors. 
He was impulsive, it is true ; intolerant of failure in those 
upon whom he conferred high authority, especially in 
military affairs; superstitious and naturally ignorant of 
China's relative place and power amongst the nations; 
but gifted nevertheless with clear insight, sweet reason- 
ableness and a highly sympathetic nature. He combined 
in his person, to a high degree, the best qualities of the 
soldier and the statesman, but was besides a scholar, a 
historian and a poet. In his domestic life also he was 
successful in maintaining his parental authority, while 
preserving the respect of his sons and grandsons; a 

310 




Portrait of His Majesty Ch'ien Lung. 
(By W. Alexander, painter attached to Lord Macartney's Embassy.) 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

polygamous autocrat in his relations with women, he 
was neither uxorious nor luxurious. After a reign of 
unexampled success, he left the Empire stronger and 
more prosperous than it had been for several centuries. 

For Englishmen, the reign of this great Emperor is 
particularly memorable, in that it witnessed the first 
Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Court 
of China — that of the Earl of Macartney, in 1795, under- 
taken with the object of improving commercial relations 
between the Chinese authorities and British merchants 
at Canton. Sir George Staunton's " authentic account " 
of that Embassy (London 1797) affords instructive 
reading to this day, besides giving a most interesting 
and sympathetic description of the aged Monarch and 
his Court at Jehol and a valuable, because impartial, 
impression of the personality of the Grand Secretary 
Ho Shen, to whose hands, for many years, was delegated 
much of the Sovereign's power, and who was destined, 
under Chia Ch'ing, to meet the common fate of Imperial 
favourites. 

At the time of Lord Macartney's Embassy the Emperor 
was eighty-four years of age, and of his numerous sons, 
only four were then living, namely the eighth, eleventh, 
fifteenth and seventeenth. (The eleventh son, at that 
time Governor of Peking, subsequently succeeded to the 
Throne under the title of Chia Ch'ing). Some years 
before, in 1784, the question of the succession had been 
raised, and His Majesty had been urged to appoint his 
Heir, because several members of the Imperial Clan 
were afraid of the growing power and ambitions of Ho 
Shen, to whose son the Emperor had given one of his 
daughters in marriage. The Imperial Clan were jealous 
of the powerful favourite, and the orthodox were anxious 
to prevent a possible breach of the laws of succession. 
But Ch'ien Lung was not the man to accept advice on 
such a subject; the zealous memorialist paid for his 

311 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

temerity with his head, the Emperor firmly dedining 
to announce his intentions. In November 1784, he issued 
a decree carefully explaining his reasons for this decision, 
a document which reveals much of the character of the 
Sovereign, and shows that he had read, marked, learned 
and inwardly digested the lessons taught by the domestic 
tribulations of his predecessor. Incidentally it throws 
valuable light on the manners and customs of the Court. 
The following is a translation of this decree : 
" I have perused the compilation entitled History of 
Official Ranks, prepared under my orders by a Com- 
mission of Princes and Ministers, and I observe, in the 
section : ' Supervisorate of Instruction for the Heir 
Apparent ' the following note : ' The staff of this office 
consists of officials ministering to the Heir Apparent, 
but our dynasty has promulgated a house-law, which 
is to last for all time, that no Emperor shall nominate 
an Heir Apparent until the close of his reign. The 
Supervisorate of Instruction is thus retained merely to 
provide Academy doctors with stepping-stones for pro- 
motion.' 

"This note is obviously based on my previous decree, 
in which I explicitly stated the reasons against a formal 
selection of an Heir Apparent. The Commission has 
adopted my identical words, but has omitted to quote 
their context. The narrow pedantry of a scholar natur- 
ally fails to appreciate the larger issues of State, so that 
my intention has been misconstrued. But should this 
history be read by later generations, it is probable that 
the Commission will be calumniated in the belief that 
they must have acted upon some treasonable motive in 
drawing up such a note. It therefore behoves me to 
issue an explicit pronouncement on the subject. Now, 
in remote antiquity we find the Emperor Yao transmitting 
the Throne to Shun, a precedent which was followed by 
his successors. Unfortunately times degenerated, so that 

312 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

under the Han dynasty the nomination of an Heir 
Apparent frequently resulted in fratricidal strife and 
civil war. You will recall that the founder of the T'ang 
dynasty (a.d. 618) selected his eldest son as Heir, with 
the result that he was murdered by his younger brother, 
Li Shih-min. In the same way, during the reign of the 
Ming Emperor Wan Li (circa 1600) the Court begged him 
to select an Heir, and dire confusion of parties ensued, 
each official endeavouring to further his own future 
interests by securing the favour of the probable successor. 
In Wan Li's reign, when an attempt was made on the 
Heir Apparent's life by armed men who entered the 
Forbidden City, the Emperor received his son in audience 
and tearfully reproached the Court for supposing that 
he had desired his Heir's death. Such a scene between 
father and son is enough to make one despair of the State. 

*' These examples show the evil results of a formal 
nomination of an Heir Apparent. As regards my own 
dynasty, my grandfather K'ang Hsi selected Prince Li 
as Heir Apparent. He was placed under the tutorship 
of T'ang Pin, an upright man, but his conduct degenerated 
so woefully after his selection that even T'ang Pin was 
unable to check and control him. Mean schemers and 
sycophants implanted seeds of discord in the Prince's 
mind : endless troubles resulted, and my grandfather's 
peace of mind was so much disturbed thereby, that he 
finally cancelled the appointment. But even had Prince 
Li been a model Heir, his early death would only have 
given him two years on the Throne. In due course his 
son Yung Hsi would have succeeded, but he, too, was a 
reprobate of the worst type and was not destined for a 
long life. Within a few years there would thus have 
been two vacancies to the Throne, a result fraught with 
danger to the destinies of our dynasty and to the welfare 
of our subjects. 

" My grandfather realised this and made no further 

313 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

public nomination of an Heir. On his demise the Throne 
passed to my father Yung Ch'eng, and for thirteen years 
that sage Emperor administered the Government and 
gave peace to the Empire. In obedience to the precedent 
estabUshed by K'ang Hsi, he made no pubhc choice of 
an Heir Apparent, although naturally he came to an 
early decision on the question of the succession, which 
affects the fortunes of our dynasty. In the first year 
of his reign he wrote my name and placed it in a sealed 
casket which he secreted at the back of the Imperial 
tablet, ' Grandly upright and gloriously bright,' in the 
main hall of the Palace. He also wrote my name on a 
paper that he put in a pouch which he always wore. 

" When my father departed on his distant journey (in 
1735), I reverently opened the casket, in the presence 
of his Ministers, and we found the mandate which ap- 
pointed me to the Throne. On our comparing the seal 
impression on the document with the other half, which 
had been secreted in the Imperial household, the two 
portions tallied exactly. The Empire then gave me its 
allegiance, as is well known to all my subjects. Early 
in my reign, in accordance with dynastic house-law, I 
selected my second son as my Heir, both because he was 
born to my Empress Consort (and not to a concubine) 
and because of his keen intelligence and correct behaviour. 
In obedience to my father's example I wrote his name, 
placed it in the casket, and secreted it behind the tablet 
of my Palace hall. But the fates were unkind, for he 
soon left this world. I then commanded my two Grand 
Secretaries, 0-erh-t'ai and Chang T'ing-yii, to remove 
and destroy the document in the casket, and I bestowed 
on my deceased son the posthumous appellation of 
' Orthodox and Discerning.' 

" Thus you will see that I duly nominated the child 
of my Empress Consort to be Heir to the Throne, but 
refrained from announcing my choice to the world. 

314 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

After his death, my seventh son, Prince Che, also born 
to the Empress, was very dear to me, because of his 
sincerity and strength of character, but in a Httle while 
I had to mourn his untimely death. Thereafter, of all 
my children, it was my fifth son. Prince Jung, who stood 
highest in my affection. He was well versed in Chinese 
literature, could speak both Manchu and Mongol, and 
was skilled in horsemanship, archery and mathematics. 
I was strongly inclined to select him as Heir Apparent, 
but never formally recorded his name. He too is dead, 
so that, if I had adopted the narrow pedantic view, 
and following ancient custom publicly declared an Heir, 
we should have seen three Heir Apparents within a space 
of thirty years, a state of affairs utterly subversive of 
dignity ! In the thirty- seventh year of my reign (1773) 
I wrote out the name of my proposed Heir and since 
then have always carried the document on my person. 
On the occasion of the New Year sacrifice at the Temple 
of Heaven this year, I bade all my sons attend me during 
the ceremony, in the course of which I informed the 
Almighty of my choice, and reverently prayed, that He 
might be pleased to shed Divine grace upon my Heir 
and to regard him with benevolent protection, so that if 
he found favour in the Divine sight he might reach a 
good old age. But if he whom I had chosen were dis- 
pleasing to the Almighty, then might He speedily visit 
him with destruction, so that I might select another 
successor, and that the dignity of our dynastic altars 
and the fortunes of our State might be duly protected. 

" Early this year, I made a pilgrimage to the tomb of 
the founder of my dynasty and that of his son. There, 
in the presence of my glorious ancestors, I besought their 
august protection. Think not that I do not love my son ! 
But I love even more the interests of the State. It will 
be to the eternal happiness of our Manchu dynasty if 
in this matter my successors will follow my example. 

315 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

" I have summoned my sons and the members of the 
Grand Council to audience this day and have made known 
to them this, my mandate. It corresponds exactly with 
the words which I uttered in the presence of my ancestors, 
where no falsehood could find a place. Day and night I 
toil, performing the heavy duties of the Government, 
exhausting myself in manifold directions. How then, 
think you, that I could possibly have failed to make long 
ago all necessary arrangements in a matter of such 
importance as the succession to the Throne ? 

" Last autumn, at Jehol, I was shooting duck by the 
riverside, when my foot slipped, I fell into the water, 
and my clothes were wet through. Not only did the 
Princes and Chamberlains hasten to my assistance with 
eager inquiries as to my condition, but even the Chinese 
Grand Councillors came hurrying to the spot. I treated 
the accident as of no moment, and walked back with 
them to the Palace, chatting and smiling all the way. 
No eunuch ventured to stop them from entering the 
forbidden precincts. In the same way, supposing that I 
were smitten with a sudden illness, any of you Ministers 
would be at liberty to make his way even into my bed- 
chamber, because I have ever treated you as members 
of my family, and held daily converse with each of you. 
In my reign, there could be no possibility of happenings 
such as former dynasties have witnessed, when a eunuch 
would rush out from the Palace at dead of night, bearing 
a slip of paper in which the demise of the Throne and 
the appointment of a successor were mysteriously recorded. 
He who fears such an event to-day is like the man of the 
Ch'i State who feared that the sky was going to fall and 
crush him ! 

" In short, although the formal selection and investiture 
of an Heir Apparent must be definitely avoided, my 
reverent announcement to the Almighty and to my 
ancestors, in all humility and sincerity of heart, provides 

316 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

for all emergencies. In this matter, I have avoided 
following the example of past dynasties, which incurred 
disasters by their strict observance of the letter of the 
law. And thus it comes to pass that the staff of the 
existing ' Super visorate of Instruction for the Heir 
Apparent ' is maintained in accordance with ancient 
custom, but has no duties to perform, the office being 
retained as a stepping-stone to promotion for doctors 
of the Academy. 

" I do hereby solemnly promulgate this my decree, in 
the earnest hope that my descendants will faithfully 
observe it for all time, because thereby, in my judgment, 
the fortunes of our dynasty will be established for genera- 
tions to come. Lastly, I claim no infallibility for my 
words : I may be mistaken, and therefore refrain from 
expressly forbidding my descendants to follow the ancient 
practice which sanctioned the appointment of an Heir 
Apparent. But perchance, if they do follow it, and if, 
as a result, strife shall arise between father and son, and 
fratricidal dissensions culminate in dire disaster to our 
dynasty, then will posterity remember the words I have 
uttered to-day. Let the Commission duly record this 
decree as a preface to their History of Official Ranks, 
so that my Imperial wishes may be made known to the 
whole Empire for time everlasting. The words of the 
Emperor ! " 

How different this lucid and straightforward utterance 
of Ch'ien Lung from the insincere phrases and machine- 
made platitudes of his predecessor ! All the recorded 
writings of Ch'ien Lung are distinguished by the same 
quality of intellectual independence and disregard for 
empty or harmful conventions. Take, for example, the 
edict in which he declares his intention of vacating the 
Throne upon the completion of sixty years of reign, 
issued in the 8th Moon of the 59th year of his reign 
(1795) : 

317 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

" I have now reigned for fifty-nine years. By the 
favour of high Heaven and the protection of my ancestors, 
peace prevails throughout my dominions, and new terri- 
tories have come to share the blessings of China's civilisa- 
tion. During all these years, I have striven to alleviate 
my people's lot and to show myself worthy of Heaven's 
blessings. Again and again have I granted exemptions 
of land tax in times of flood and famine and bestowed 
upon the sufferers over ten million taels from my privy 
purse. 

" Next year will witness the sixtieth anniversary of 
my succession to this goodly heritage of the Throne : 
few, indeed, of my predecessors in this and other dynasties, 
have completed a sixty-year cycle. Those among them 
who have reigned over sixty years came to the Throne 
in early childhood, whereas I was twenty-five years of 
age at my accession. To-day I am eighty-four, and my 
natural strength is not abated. I rejoice in the possession 
of perfect health, and my descendants to the fourth 
generation surround me. Immeasurably thankful as I 
am to the Almighty for His protection, I feel encouraged 
to yet further endeavour. On New Year's Day of my 
sixtieth year an eclipse of the sun is due, and on the 
Festival of LantQj*ns (1st Moon, 15th day) there will be 
a lunar eclipse. Heaven sends these portents as warnings, 
but a Sovereign's duty is to be guided by his conscience 
and to be aware of his shortcomings at all times, so that 
an eclipse is not needed to awaken him to a sense of duty. 
To find favour in the sight of Heaven he must regulate 
his conduct. There is no need for empty catchwords 
and platitudes on the occasion of such natural events. 

" During the course of next year, I shall prepare for 
my impending abdication, and the new Emperor will 
mount the Throne on New Year's Day of the year follow- 
ing. In recognition of the warning conveyed by these 
eclipses, I purpose to hold no New Year's Court next year, 

318 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

and the customary banquet to the Princes will be omitted. 
During the period of the eclipses, I shall array myself in 
every day raiment and doff my Imperial robes of ceremony. 

" These phenomena can be foretold, as Mencius says, 
a thousand years before they occur, but in the present 
case, the coincidence of two eclipses is a fresh indication 
of the favour of Heaven towards me, for had this pheno- 
menon taken place in the following year, it would have 
signified an inauspicious opening for my son's reign. I 
feel profoundly grateful to Heaven for its favour, and in 
return I hereby cancel all birthday celebrations in the 
capital for next year, and shall content myself with 
receiving the congratulations of my Court at Jehol." 

Ch'ien Lung's instinctive reverence towards Heaven 
and his ancestors, the good example of his temperate 
and industrious life, all his precautions of statecraft and 
military activities, were directed towards the consolida- 
tion of the Manchu power and of a government which 
should confer prosperity upon the Chinese people. Never- 
theless, and despite the sincerity of his good intentions, 
he had established beside the Throne, in the person of 
his favourite Minister, the Grand Secretary Ho Shen, a 
source of demoralisation, an initiative of wickedness and 
greed in high places, which was destined (as we shall 
show) to destroy the very foundations of the State. 
Amongst Chinese historians and scholars there is a 
common saying : " A cycle of virtuous rule was brought 
to nought by Ho Shen : the disastrous century of rebellion 
and decline which followed was due to him and to him 
alone." 

We shall have occasion later to relate the dramatic 
story of this all-powerful satrap, to whom (as Staunton 
says) the people looked as to a second Emperor. For 
the present, suffice it to say that Ch'ien Lung's personal 
devotion to the highest ideals of government was greatly 
prejudiced, even during his reign, by his blind belief in 

319 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Ho Shen. It was the example of extravagant luxury set 
by this great Vizier, which led to the rapid deterioration 
of the Manchu Court's old simple style of living; his 
nepotism and venality, displayed in the employment of 
corrupt officials, were fundamental factors in the rebellions 
which broke out in the reign of Chia Ch'ing. But Ch'ien 
Lung's devotion to his chief Minister knew no wavering; 
during the last twenty years of his reign, he allowed Ho 
Shen to exercise despotic power and to amass a huge 
fortune. To his son, he gave an Imperial Princess for 
wife, and to his brother. Ho Lin,^ he entrusted the com- 
mand of the Imperial forces and the administration 
of Tibetan affairs. 

This Ho Lin was directly concerned in the affairs of 
Lord Macartney's Embassy, for in 1790 he was summoned 
by the Emperor to return from Lhasa to Peking, in antici- 
pation of the British Envoy's probable intention of 
discussing Great Britain's interests in India, affected by 
China's successful campaign of the previous year against 
the marauding Ghoorkas of Nepal. The Emperor's edict 
concerning China's suzerainty over Tibet and the relations 
of the Imperial Resident at Lhasa with the Dalai Lama, 
is of permanent interest. 

" We are informed," he wrote, " by Cheng Te, who has 
just arrived from Lhasa, that Ho Lin is displaying great 
skill in the management of Tibetan affairs, and does not 
kneel or kotow to the Dalai Lama, who obeys every 
order that he may give. We are the more delighted 
to hear that Ho Lin is thus conscious of the dignity 
of the State, because of late years Tibet has been steadily 
sinking into depths of barbarism and its government 
has degenerated into hopeless inefficiency. Now that Ho 
Lin has set things on a more stable basis, it will be easier 
to enforce our control over the country, and the real 

^ Whose attitude towards the British Envoy and his suite is described 
by Staunton as " formal and repulsive." 

320 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

power will be vested in our hands. We are now sending 
Sung Yiin to be our Resident at Lhasa : he is a Mongol 
and is therefore a devout believer in the Buddhism of 
the Lamas. Should he fail to show due regard for his 
own dignity, the Dalai will surely put fresh obstacles in 
his way. We therefore command that he be instructed 
not to perform any degrading ceremony of obeisance to 
the Dalai Lama. If he wishes to display his individual 
respect to the head of his religion, let him wait until 
his term of office has expired : then, before leaving Lhasa, 
he may, if he thinks fit, ask the Dalai for his blessing." 

Ho Lin returned to Peking and was present at the 
Emperor's reception of the British Embassy at Jehol. 
Staunton relates ^ that although Earl Macartney was at 
pains to reassure the Grand Secretary, Ho Shen, that 
Great Britain had no intention of interfering in the 
contests of the countries neighbouring on India, and that 
the dissolution of the Great Mogul's Empire involved no 
new dangers to China, nevertheless. Ho Lin accompanied 
Ho Shen at all his meetings with the Ambassador, " as 
if fearful that any explanation, relative to the Tibet war, 
might take place between them." He made no attempt 
to conceal " the violent prepossession which he had 
imbibed against the English," both in Tibet and earlier 
at Canton. Doubtless the influence of this cantankerous 
individual was to some extent reflected in the attitude 
of certain members of the Court, but Ho Shen himself 
took a broad view of the Embassy's objects in coming 
to China, and remembering the friendly services rendered 
by the British at the end of the Nepalese campaign, 
was instrumental in persuading the Emperor to waive 
the ceremony of the kotow, upon which the more con- 
servative officials and courtiers were disposed to insist. 

Ho Lin's influence and advice were undoubtedly factors 
in the Emperor's refusal to accede to Earl Macartney's 
^ Macartney's Embassy to China, Vol. II, p. 241. 
Y 321 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

requests for the establishment of a British representative 
and a trading centre at Peking ; for the extension of ship- 
ping facihties, and a regular Customs tariff applicable 
to British traders at Chusan, Ningpo and Tientsin; and 
for the authorisation of missionary labours in China. It 
was common report at the time that Ho Shen had advised 
the Emperor to grant some, at least, of the Ambassador's 
requests, but that the aged Sovereign was finally dis- 
suaded from this course by his sons, and especially by 
the opinions of him who subsequently became the Emperor 
Chia Ch'ing. 

The Imperial " mandate " to King George III, issued 
by His Majesty a few days after his reception of the 
British Embassy at Jehol makes strange reading to- 
day. How swift and complete has been the process of 
the Great Celestial Empire's decline and humiliation, 
since its Sovereign could describe himself in all sincerity, 
as " swaying the wide world." In those days, only a 
brief century ago, China's ignorance of the outer world 
was bliss indeed. 

The following is the text of this historic document : 

" You, O King, live beyond the confines of many seas, 
nevertheless, impelled by your humble desire to partake 
of the benefits of our civilisation, you have dispatched a 
mission respectfully bearing your memorial. Your Envoy 
has crossed the seas and paid his respects at my Court 
on the anniversary of my birthday. To show your 
devotion, you have also sent offerings of your country's 
produce. 

'* I have perused your memorial : the earnest terms in 
which it is couched reveal a respectful humility on your 
part, which is highly praiseworthy. In consideration of 
the fact that your Ambassador and his deputy have 
come a long way with your memorial and tribute, I have 
shown them high favour and have allowed them to be 
introduced into my presence. To manifest my indulgence, 

322 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

I have entertained them at a banquet and made them 
numerous gifts. I have also caused presents to be for- 
warded to the Naval Commander and six hundred of his 
officers and men, although they did not come to Peking, 
so that they too may share in my all-embracing kindness. 

" As to your entreaty to send one of your nationals to be 
accredited to my Celestial Court and to be in control of 
your country's trade with China, this request is contrary 
to all usage of my dynasty and cannot possibly be enter- 
tained. It is true that Europeans, in the service of the 
dynasty, have been permitted to live at Peking, but they 
are compelled to adopt Chinese dress, they are strictly 
confined to their own precincts and are never permitted 
to return home. You are presumably familiar with our 
dynastic regulations. Your proposed Envoy to my Court 
could not be placed in a position similar to that of Euro- 
pean officials in Peking who are forbidden to leave China, 
nor could he, on the other hand, be allowed liberty of 
movement and the privilege of corresponding with his 
own country; so that you v>^ould gain nothing by his 
residence in our midst. 

" Moreover, our Celestial dynasty possesses vast terri- 
tories, and tribute missions from the dependencies are 
provided for by the Department for Tributary States, 
which ministers to their wants and exercises strict control 
over their movements. It would be quite impossible to 
leave them to their own devices. Supposing that your 
Envoy should come to our Court, his language and 
national dress differ from that of our people, and there 
would be no place in which to bestow him. It may 
be suggested that he might imitate the Europeans per- 
manently resident in Peking and adopt the dress and 
customs of China, but, it has never been our dynasty's 
wish to force people to do things unseemly and incon- 
venient. Besides, supposing I sent an Ambassador to 
reside in your country, how could you possibly make 

323 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

for him the requisite arrangements? Europe consists 
of many other nations besides your own : if each and all 
demanded to be represented at our Court, how could we 
possibly consent? The thing is utterly impracticable. 
How can our dynasty alter its whole procedure and system 
of etiquette, established for more than a century, in 
order to meet your individual views? If it be said that 
your object is to exercise control over your country's 
trade, your nationals have had full liberty to trade at 
Canton for many a year, and have received the greatest 
consideration at our hands. Missions have been sent by 
Portugal and Italy, preferring similar requests. The 
Throne appreciated their sincerity and loaded them with 
favours, besides authorising measures to facilitate their 
trade with China. You are no doubt aware that, when 
my Canton merchant, Wu Chao-ping, was in debt to the 
foreign ships, I made the Viceroy advance the monies 
due, out of the provincial treasury, and ordered him to 
punish the culprit severely. Why then should foreign 
nations advance this utterly unreasonable request to be 
represented at my Court ? Peking is nearly two thousand 
miles from Canton, and at such a distance what possible 
control could any British representative exercise ? 

" If you assert that your reverence for Our Celestial 
dynasty fills you with a desire to acquire our civilisation, 
our ceremonies and code of laws differ so completely 
from your own that, even if your Envoy were able to 
acquire the rudiments of our civilisation, you could not 
possibly transplant our manners and customs to your 
alien soil. Therefore, however adept the Envoy might 
become, nothing would be gained thereby. 

" Swaying the wide world, I have but one aim in 
view, namely, to maintain a perfect governance and to 
fulfil the duties of the State : strange and costly objects 
do not interest me. If I have commanded that the tribute 
offerings sent by you, O King, are to be accepted, 

324 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

this was solely in consideration for the spirit which 
prompted you to dispatch them from afar. Our dynasty's 
majestic virtue has penetrated unto every country under 
Heaven, and Kings of all nations have offered their costly 
tribute by land and sea. As your Ambassador can see 
for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects 
strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country's 
manufactures. This then is my answer to your request 
to appoint a representative at my Court, a request con- 
trary to our dynastic usage, which would only result in 
inconvenience to yourself. I have expounded my wishes 
in detail and have commanded your tribute Envoys to 
leave in peace on their homeward journey. It behoves 
you, O King, to respect my sentiments and to display 
even greater devotion and loyalty in future, so that, by 
perpetual submission to our Throne, you may secure 
peace and prosperity for your country hereafter. Besides 
making gifts (of which I enclose an inventory) to each 
member of your Mission, I confer upon you, O King, 
valuable presents in excess of the number usually be- 
stowed on such occasions, including silks and curios — 
a list of which is likewise enclosed. Do you reverently 
receive them and take note of my tender goodwill towards 
you ! A special mandate." "^'^ 

A further mandate to King George III dealt in detail 
with the British Ambassador's proposals and the Emperor's 
reasons for declining them : " You, O King, from afar 
have yearned after the blessings of our civilisation, and 
in your eagerness to come into touch with our converting 
influence have sent an Embassy across the sea bearing a 
memorial. I have already taken note of your respectful 
spirit of submission, have treated your mission with 
extreme favour and loaded it with gifts, besides issuing 
a mandate to you, O King, and honouring you with the 
bestowal of valuable presents. Thus has my indulgence 
been manifested. 

325 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

" Yesterday your Ambassador petitioned my Ministers 
to memorialise me regarding your trade with China, 
but his proposal is not consistent with our dynastic 
usage and cannot be entertained. Hitherto, all European 
nations, including your own country's barbarian mer- 
chants, have carried on their trade with our Celestial 
Empire at Canton. Such has been the procedure for 
many years, although our Celestial Empire possesses all 
things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within 
its own borders. There was therefore no need to import 
the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for 
our own produce. But as the tea, silk and porcelain 
which the Celestial Empire produces, are absolute neces- 
sities to European nations and to yourselves, we have 
permitted, as a signal mark of favour, that foreign hongs 
should be established at Canton, so that your wants 
might be supplied and your country thus participate in 
our beneficence. But your Ambassador has now put 
forward new requests which completely fail to recognise 
the Throne's principle to ' treat strangers from afar with 
indulgence,' and to exercise a pacifying control over 
barbarian tribes, the world over. Moreover, our dynasty, 
swaying the myriad races of the globe, extends the same 
benevolence towards all. Your England is not the only 
nation trading at Canton. If other nations, following 
your bad example, wrongfully importune my ear with 
further impossible requests, how will it be possible for 
me to treat them with easy indulgence? Nevertheless, 
I do not forget the lonely remoteness of your island, cut 
off from the world by intervening wastes of sea,^ nor do 
I overlook your excusable ignorance of the usages of our 
Celestial Empire. I have consequently commanded my 
Ministers to enlighten your Ambassador on the subject, 
and have ordered the departure of the mission. But I 
have doubts that, after your Envoy's return he may fail 
* Cf. " Toto divisos orbe Britannos." 
326 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

to acquaint you with my view in detail or that he may 
be lacking in lucidity, so that I shall now proceed to take 
your requests seriatim and to issue my mandate on each 
question separately. In this way you will, I trust, 
comprehend my meaning. 

" (1) Your Ambassador requests facilities for ships of 
your nation to call at Ningpo, Chusan, Tientsin and other 
places for purposes of trade. Until now trade with 
European nations has always been conducted at Aomen, 
where the foreign hongs are established to store and sell 
foreign merchandise. Your nation has obediently com- 
plied with this regulation for years past without raising 
any objection. In none of the other ports named have 
hongs been established, so that even if your vessels were 
to proceed thither, they would have no means of disposing 
of their cargoes. Furthermore, no interpreters are avail- 
able, so you would have no means of explaining your 
wants, and nothing but general inconvenience would 
result. For the future, as in the past, I decree that your 
request is refused and that the trade shall be limited to 
Aomen. 

" (2) The request that your merchants may establish 
a repository in the capital of my Empire for the storing 
and sale of your produce, in accordance with the precedent 
granted to Russia, is even more impracticable than the 
last. My capital is the hub and centre about which all 
quarters of the globe revolve. Its ordinances are most 
august and its laws are strict in the extreme. The sub- 
jects of our dependencies have never been allowed to 
open places of business in Peking. Foreign trade has 
hitherto been conducted at Aomen, because it is con- 
veniently near to the sea, and therefore an important 
gathering place for the ships of all nations sailing to and 
fro. If warehouses were established in Peking, the 
remoteness of your country, lying far to the north-west 
of my capital, would render transport extremely difficult. 

327 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Before Kiakhta was opened, the Russians were permitted 
to trade at Peking, but the accommodation furnished to 
them was only temporary. As soon as Kiakhta was 
available, they were compelled to withdraw from Peking, 
which has been closed to their trade these many years. 
Their frontier trade at Kiakhta is on all fours with your 
trade at Aomen. Possessing facilities at the latter place, 
you now ask for further privileges at Peking, although 
our dynasty observes the severest restrictions respecting 
the admission of foreigners within its boundaries, and 
has never permitted the subjects of dependencies to cross 
the Empire's barriers and settle at will amongst the 
Chinese people. This request is also refused. 

" (3) Your request for a small island near Chusan, where 
your merchants may reside and goods be warehoused, 
arises from your desire to develop trade. As there are 
neither foreign hongs nor interpreters in or near Chusan, 
where none of your ships have ever called, such an island 
would be utterly useless for your purposes. Every inch 
of the territory of our Empire is marked on the map and 
the strictest vigilance is exercised over it all : even tiny 
islets and far-lying sand-banks are clearly defined as part 
of the provinces to which they belong. Consider, moreover, 
that England is not the only barbarian land which wishes 
to establish relations with our civilisation and trade with 
our Empire : supposing that other nations were all to 
imitate your evil example and beseech me to present 
them each and all with a site for trading purposes, how 
could I possibly comply ? This also is a flagrant infringe- 
ment of the usage of my Empire and cannot possibly be 
entertained. 

" (4) The next request, for a small site in the vicinity 
of Canton city, where your barbarian merchants may lodge 
or, alternatively, that there be no longer any restrictions 
over their movements at Aomen, has arisen from the 
following causes. Hitherto, the barbarian merchants of 

328 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Europe have had a definite locahty assigned to them at 
Aomen for residence and trade, and have been forbidden 
to encroach an inch beyond the hmits assigned to that 
locahty. Barbarian merchants having business with the 
hongs have never been allowed to enter the city of Canton ; 
by these measures, disputes between Chinese and barbarians 
are prevented, and a firm barrier is raised between my 
subjects and those of other nations. The present request 
is quite contrary to precedent; furthermore, European 
nations have been trading with Canton for a number of 
years and, as they make large profits, the number of traders 
is constantly increasing. How would it be possible to 
grant such a site to each country? The merchants of 
the foreign hongs are responsible to the local officials for 
the proceedings of barbarian merchants and they carry 
out periodical inspections. If these restrictions were 
withdrawn, friction would inevitably occur between the 
Chinese and your barbarian subjects, and the results would 
militate against the benevolent regard that I feel towards 
you. From every point of view, therefore, it is best that 
the regulations now in force should continue unchanged. 

" (5) Regarding your request for remission or reduction 
of duties on merchandise discharged by your British bar- 
barian merchants at Aomen and distributed throughout 
the interior, there is a regular tariff in force for barbarian 
merchants' goods, which applies equally to all European 
nations. It would be as wrong to increase the duty im- 
posed on your nation's merchandise on the ground that the 
bulk of foreign trade is in your hands, as to make an 
exception in your case in the shape of specially reduced 
duties. In future, duties shall be levied equitably without 
discrimination between your nation and any other, and, 
in order to manifest my regard, your barbarian merchants 
shall continue to be shown every consideration at Aomen. 

" (6) As to your request that your ships shall pay the 
duties leviable by tariff, there are regular rules in force at 

329 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

the Canton Custom house respecting the amounts payable, 
and since I have refused your request to be allowed to 
trade at other ports, this duty will naturally continue 
to be paid at Canton as heretofore. 

" (7) Regarding your nation's worship of the Lord of 
Heaven, it is the same religion as that of other Euro- 
pean nations. Ever since the beginning of history, sage 
Emperors and wise rulers have bestowed on China a moral 
system and inculcated a code, which from time immemorial 
has been religiously observed by the myriads of my 
subjects. There has been no hankering after heterodox 
doctrines. Even the European (missionary) officials in 
my capital are forbidden to hold intercourse with Chinese 
subjects; they are restricted within the limits of their 
appointed residences, and may not go about propagating 
their religion. The distinction between Chinese and 
barbarian is most strict, and your Ambassador's request 
that barbarians shall be given full liberty to disseminate 
their religion is utterly unreasonable. 

" It may be, O King, that the above proposals have 
been wantonly made by your Ambassador on his own 
responsibility, or peradventure you yourself are ignorant 
of our dynastic regulations and had no intention of trans- 
gressing them when you expressed these wild ideas and 
hopes. I have ever shown the greatest condescension 
to the tribute missions of all States which sincerely yearn 
after the blessings of civilisation, so as to manifest my 
kindly indulgence. I have even gone out of my way to 
grant any requests which were in any way consistent 
with Chinese usage. Above all, upon you, who live in a 
remote and inaccessible region, far across the spaces of 
ocean, but who have shown your submissive loyalty by 
sending this tribute mission, I have heaped benefits far 
in excess of those accorded to other nations. But the 
demands presented by your Embassy are not only a 
contravention of dynastic tradition, but would be utterly 

330 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

unproductive of good result to yourself, besides being quite 
impracticable. I have accordingly stated the facts to 
you in detail, and it is your bounden duty reverently to 
appreciate my feelings and to obey these instructions 
henceforward for all time, so that you may enjoy the 
blessings of perpetual peace. If, after the receipt of this 
explicit decree, you lightly give ear to the representations 
of your subordinates and allow your barbarian merchants 
to proceed to Chekiang and Tientsin, with the object of 
landing and trading there, the ordinances of my Celestial 
Empire are strict in the extreme, and the local officials, 
both civil and military, are bound reverently to obey the 
law of the land. Should your vessels touch the shore, your 
merchants will assuredly never be permitted to land or 
to reside there, but will be subject to instant expulsion. 
In that event your barbarian merchants will have had a 
long journey for nothing. Do not say that you were not 
warned in due time ! Tremblingly obey and show no 
negligence ! A special mandate ! " 

As is well known, the ceremony of the kotow was 
waived by Ch'ien Lung in deference to Earl Macartney's 
objections, but the Manchus subsequently declared, and 
to this day affect to believe, that, when the Ambassador 
entered His Majesty's presence, he was so overcome with 
awe and nervousness, that his legs gave way under him, 
so that he grovelled abjectly on the ground, thus to all 
intents and purposes performing an involuntary kotow. 

Finally, two days before his abdication, in 1796, the 
Emperor addressed the following letter to King George 
III: 

" Chu Kuei (Viceroy of Canton) memorialises Us that 
the King of England has forwarded a memorial with 
tribute. Two years ago, on the occasion of the tribute 
mission from the King coming to Peking, We conferred 
upon him many valuable presents, so he has now dispatched 
a further memorial with offerings of tribute, thus indicat- 

331 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

ing his loyal sincerity. We raise absolutely no objection 
to the fact of his having omitted to send a mission on 
this occasion, and are graciously pleased to accept his 
offerings. In addition, We bestow upon him the following 
mandate : Your nation is inaccessible, lying far beyond 
the dividing seas, but you sent a mission with a memorial 
and tribute to pay homage at our Court, and We, in recog- 
nition of your loyal sincerity, conferred upon you our 
mandate and valuable gifts, as evidence of our satisfaction. 
Now, O King, you have again prepared a memorial and 
offerings, which have been conveyed by your barbarian 
vessels to Canton and transmitted to Us. Your reverent 
submission to Our person is manifest. Our Celestial 
dynasty, which sways the wide world, attaches no value 
to the costly presents which are offered at Our Court : 
what We appreciate is the humble spirit of the offerers. 
We have commanded Our Viceroy to accept your tribute 
in order that your reverence may be duly recognised. 

" As regarding Our sending of a punitive expedition 
to Nepal, Our Commander-in-chief marched at the head 
of a great army into that country, occupied the chief 
strategic points, and terrified the Ghoorkas into grovel- 
ling submission to Our majestic Empire. Our Com- 
mander-in-chief duly memorialised Us, and We, whose 
Imperial clemency is world-wide, embracing Chinese and 
foreigners alike, could not endure the thought of exter- 
minating the entire population of the country. Accord- 
ingly We accepted their surrender. At that time Our 
Commander-in-chief duly informed Us of your having 
dispatched a mission into Tibet, with a petition to Our 
Resident, stating that you had advised the Nepalese to 
surrender. But at the time of your petition Our troops 
had already gained a complete victory and the desired 
end had been attained.^ We were not obliged to trouble 

1 The Chinese expedition against Nepal was commanded by Fu 
K'ang-an, Ch'ien Lung's ablest General. It started from Kokonor in 

332 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

your troops to render assistance. You allude to this 
matter in your present memorial, but are doubtless ignorant 
of the precise course of events in Nepal, as your tribute 
mission was on its way to Peking at the time of these 
occurrences. Nevertheless, O King, you entertained a 
clear perception of your duty towards Us, and your reverent 
acknowledgment of Our dynasty's supremacy is highly 
praiseworthy. 

" We therefore now bestow upon you various costly 
gifts. Do you, O King, display even more energetic 
loyalty in future and endeavour to deserve for ever Our 

the 2nd Moon of the Emperor's 57th year (1793), and entered Tibet 
via the Tant-la Pass (cf. Abbe Hue's Travels in Tibet), where a fierce 
wind usually blows, but Fu K'ang-an reported that on the occasion 
of his troops crossing the pass the Aveather was bright and there was 
no wind. In gratitude to the spirit of this mountain for having vouch- 
safed such good weather to the expedition, Ch'ien Lung ordered that 
the Tant-la should be included amongst the mountains of the Empire 
which are entitled to receive an Imperial sacrifice. 

In July of that year the Chinese forces marched into Nepal, invading 
it from three sides. The Ghoorkas sent a mission to seek aid from Great 
Britain, whereupon Cornwallis dispatched an officer to Khatmandu 
to act as peacemaker. But by the 7th Moon the Imperial troops 
had defeated Nepal in six battles, and when they Avere only one day's 
march from Khatmandu the Nepalese tendered an abject submission. 
The Chinese did not linger in Nepal, the season being far advanced, 
but returned to Tibet in the 8th Moon, after exacting an undertaking 
to bring tribute to Peking once in every five years in the form of tame 
elephants, horses and musical instruments. The Nepalese had invaded 
Tibet at the request of the Red Priesthood two years previously (1791) 
ostensibly on the ground that the duties imposed on salt at the Nepalese 
frontier were excessive, and that the commodity was adulterated vnth. 
earth. On this occasion the Commander of the Chinese forces, Pa 
Chung, had declined battle, and had induced the Tibetans to promise 
the Nepalese an annual subsidy of 15,000 ounces of silver if they would 
withdraw. At the same time he reported to the Throne that he had 
defeated the Nepalese and that they had accepted Manchu suzerainty. 
In the following year, 1792, the promised subsidy of 15,000 taels not 
being forthcoming, the Nepalese again invaded Tibet. Pao Tai, the 
Resident at Lhasa, made no preparations to resist them, but conveyed 
the Panshen Lama to Lhasa, abandoning Hon Tsang to the invaders, 
who sacked the sacred city of Tashilhunpo and conveyed its treasures 
back to Nepal, at the same time leaving a strong force inside the 
Tibetan frontier. 

333 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

gracious affection, so that we may conform to Our earnest 
resolve to pacify distant tribes and to manifest Our Imperial 
clemency. 

" Chu Kuei is to hand this mandate to your Agent, for 
transmission to yourself, in order that you may be encour- 
aged to display still greater gratitude and reverent sub- 
mission hereafter, in acknowledgment of Our indulgence. 

"It is contrary to Our dynastic ordinances for Our 
officials to enter into social relations with barbarians, 
and Chu Kuei acted therefore quite properly in returning 
the presents which were sent to the former Viceroy and 
Superintendent of Customs at Canton." 

In his private life, and in the administration of his 
household, Ch'ien Lung combined a high sense of his 
Imperial dignity with frugal habits. Throughout his long 
life he retained his devotion to the chase, for the wilds of 
Manchuria and Mongolia, for the simple, open-air life 
which had made his forefathers the hardy men they were. 
It would be interesting to study the coincidence of the 
decay of the Imperial hunting parks, the decline of manly 
exercises amongst the Manchu aristocracy, with the gradual 
ascendancy of the eunuchs that begins definitely to assert 
itself in the reign of Ch'ien Lung's successor. 

As the head of his family and of the Palace household, 
Ch'ien Lung exercised a very strict supervision over his 
domestic affairs until old age and the increasing cares of 
State combined to relax his energies in this direction. 
In private as in public life, the secret of his success lay in 
personal attention to detail, indefatigable energy, a broad 
mind, and a personality in which a strong sense of order 
and discipline combined with many sympathetic qualities. 
Ch'ien Lung was essentially a statesman ; but he was also 
a good sportsman, with a touch of the poetic temperament. 
As the traveller gazes to-day on the melancholy ruins of 
Yuan Ming-yiian, or the hunting parks at Jehol and 
Peking, he cannot but wonder that a race which could 

334 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

produce so wise and so virile a ruler, and send its armies 
half across Asia, should to-day be represented only by the 
besotted and effeminate creatures who walk so delicately 
and so uselessly as Manchu Princes. 

Ch'ien Lung hated extravagance, and until the close of 
his reign, when the contagion of Ho Shen's purple and fine 
linen had begun to breed luxury in the Imperial house- 
hold, he set the example of thrift and simple fare. At 
the same time, there was nothing of the Puritan about 
him, nor of the total abstainer ; he loved a pretty woman 
and a good dinner, but held the Oriental faith, that both 
were gifts of the gods, not to be easily won, nor lightly 
esteemed. Throughout his sixty years' reign he never 
once omitted the custom of offering sacrifice of propitiation 
to the kitchen god, who on the 23rd day of the 10th Moon 
proceeds heavenwards, to make his annual report on the 
family's behaviour during the year. The Palace in which 
the sacrifice used to be performed is the K'un Ning-kang 
(" Earthly Repose "), and the ceremony took place on a 
brick platform or Wang, in the centre of the hall. Drums 
were placed in readiness, and it was the custom for the 
Empress first to proceed thither and await the Emperor's 
arrival. He himself then beat the drum and sang the ditty 
known as : " The Emperor's search for worthy officials." 
The household were drawn up in lines, and on the con- 
clusion of the song, crackers were fired to start the kitchen 
god on his mission. The custom was discontinued by Chia 
Ch'ing. 

Ch'ien Lung was no ascetic kill- joy. To the east of the 
Lake of Happiness, at the Summer Palace of Yiian Ming- 
yiian, in a garden called the " Park of Universal Joy," 
he was fond of giving theatrical entertainments to his 
Court. At the New Year he used to have booths erected 
along the main road of the garden and there organised a 
market fair for the amusement of the Court. There were 
curio and porcelain stores, embroidery shops, dealers in 

335 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

silks, as well as restaurants, wine- taverns and tea-houses. 
Even pedlars and hawkers were allowed to come and ply 
their trade. The shops were managed by eunuchs, and the 
jade and other articles were supplied from the large estab- 
lishments in Peking, under arrangements made by the 
Supervisor of the Octroi, who selected what goods should 
be sent.^ High officials and their wives were admitted 
to this fair, and allowed to make purchases or to order 
food or tea at the restaurants, just as they pleased. Every- 
thing was done exactly as at a real market fair : waiters 
and shop attendants were brought from the chief restaur- 
ants in the city, care being taken to select only those of 
good appearance and clear pronunciation. As His Majesty 
passed down the line of booths, the waiters would shout 
out their menus for the day, the hawkers would cry their 
goods, and the clerks would be busy calling out the figures 
which they were entering on the day-books. The bustle 
and animation of this scene used to delight the Emperor. 
The fair continued daily till the end of the 1st Moon, 
when the booths were taken down. This pleasant custom 
was also abandoned by Chia Ch'ing, whose temperament 
was morose and opposed to all forms of gaiety. 

According to the annalists, Ch'ien Lung displayed in 
his domestic affairs the same thrifty virtues which dis- 
tinguished the great Tzii Hsi, and some of the same little 
weaknesses. He was fond of certain dainties, and on his 
travels loved to experiment with new dishes; for rich, 
greasy ones he had a particular liking. It is recorded in 
one of several old diaries in the possession of a Manchu, 
whose family has held high positions at Peking for several 
generations, that on one occasion, while journeying through 
the Yangtsze provinces. His Majesty desired to try a famous 
Yangchou recipe for beancurd. Finding it to his taste, 

1 Tzii Hsi instituted a similar custom at the Summer Palace during 
the period (before the coup d'etat of 1898) of her retirement from State 
affairs. 

336 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

he asked the cost, and on being told that it was only 
thirty cash (about a penny) directed that this cheap and 
excellent fare be added to the menus of the Palace at 
Peking. After returning to the capital, he discovered, 
however, that the eunuchs entered the dish in the house- 
hold kitchen account at twelve taels (then £3). When 
he asked the reason they informed him that " southern 
delicacies are not easily prepared in the north." 

These housekeeping " squeezes " were a frequent source 
of worry to Ch'ien Lung, as they were later to Tzu Hsi. 
They contributed to make posts in the Imperial Household 
amongst the most coveted in the Empire. Such posts 
were only open to Manchus; in recent years the annual 
income of a senior Secretary of the Household was esti- 
mated at over a million taels. Any attempts to cut down 
the perquisites of these offices (such as were made by the 
parsimonious Tao Kuang) naturally made the Emperor 
unpopular with the Imperial clansmen, many of whom 
were directly or indirectly beneficiaries in these Palace 
squeezes. 

It is recorded that one cold winter's day, receiving 
an official named Wang Yu-tun in audience, Ch'ien Lung 
asked him whether he had had anything to eat before attend- 
ing Court at dawn, to which Wang replied, " We are 
very poor. All the breakfast that I can afford consists 
of two or three eggs." At this the Emperor exclaimed : 
" You dare to tell me you are poor, yet you confess to 
eating three eggs at a time ! Eggs cost me 75 cents a-piece 
— I should never dream of ordering three." Wang did 
not dare to tell the Emperor the true price of eggs, so he 
said : " I was speaking of an inferior type of egg, not the 
sort which would be suitable for Your Majesty's table. 
My sort can be bought for about a cash apiece." The 
Emperor understood and gave orders that the Palace eggs 
were henceforward to be charged at a more reasonable 
figure. 

z 337 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Where women were concerned, Ch'ien Lung was, natur- 
ally, polygamous and patriarchal, after the Oriental 
manner, but ever mindful of the proprieties and jealous 
of his Consort's dignity, and for the rest, courteous and 
gentle, and generous. His domestic life was free from 
bickerings and scandals and his children were well brought 
up, for he knew how to combine the suaviter in modo with 
the fortiter in re. According to the annalists. His Majesty 
was wont, in the moments perdus of his manifold official 
and domestic duties, to indulge occasionally in emotional 
adventures and even escapades. There were entr'actes 
in the dignified drama of his public life. The following 
story, for instance, is one of several — not necessarily true, 
but certainly believed at the time. 

In the earlier years of his reign the fame of a certain 
literary courtesan, named San Ku-niang, had penetrated 
even to the Palace. Her gate was thronged with Princes 
and high officials : a word from her was esteemed as a high 
honour. So great was her influence that she was able 
on more than one occasion to intercede successfully on 
behalf of scholars and officials who had incurred the 
Emperor's displeasure. 

One night the Commandant of the Peking Gendarmerie 
summoned one of his Lieutenants and handed him an arrow 
(the sign of authority for summary arrest), bidding him 
convey San Ku-niang to prison. The Lieutenant was 
much alarmed, but dared not disobey. Having effected 
an entrance to the lady's house, he proceeded upstairs to 
her bedchamber. At the door he found a handmaid, to 
whom he communicated his orders. Soon a soft voice 
was heard from within, saying : " Sir, you are my 
honoured guest : it would not be seemly for me to appear 
before you, except clad in my gayest raiment. Pray 
wait a few minutes whilst I change my dress, and I shall 
be happy to welcome you." 

After a considerable time had elapsed, the Lieutenant 

338 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

began to fear that the lady had made good her escape 
by a back door. So he called out, to make sure, whereupon 
she answered : " Whoever heard of a prisoner escaping 
from the clutches of the Commandant of Gendarmerie ? 
Wait but a little longer and I shall be ready to go with 
you." 

At last San Ku-niang came forth, and handed to the 
Lieutenant a pearl in a casket. This he politely declined. 
She then gave him a small box, covered with Imperial 
yellow silk. " Take this," she said, " and present it to 
your chief. It will perhaps make my presence unneces- 
sary." The Lieutenant looked uncomfortable, not know- 
ing what to do, but the lady reassured him. " You can 
but try; if the Commandant is not satisfied, come back 
for me. There is plenty of time. This box has travelled 
all over the Empire " (it was one of the kind used for 
forwarding Imperial decrees) ; " there is really no deception 
about it." The Lieutenant took the box and wrapped it 
up carefully. " Might I ask," he inquired, " if you had 
a visitor just now? " "Yes," was the reply, "he was 
a person of high position, but he has left the house by an 
underground passage which runs beneath my boudoir." 
The Lieutenant trembled and turned pale. He returned 
to the Commandant, gave him the box and told him what 
had passed. 

Next morning, the Commandant was summoned to 
audience. The Emperor said to him : " I know that you 
are a zealous official, but you should look at things from 
a broader aspect and refrain from doing petty detective 
work. Such behaviour lacks dignity and will get you 
into trouble." 

The Commandant kotowed and expressed his contrition. 
From that time forward the Peking police refrained from 
displaying too much zeal in the matter of domiciliary visits. 

Travellers who have visited Peking may remember the 

339 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

beautiful ruins of the Mahomedan Mosque which until 
last year stood just outside the south wall of the Lake 
Palace of the Forbidden City. Until five years ago services 
were still held in this Mosque by a Chinese Mahomedan 
who had made the pilgrimage to Mecca, an aged man, 
supported in his ruined shrine, by a handful of the faithful ; 
but he died in 1908, and thereafter, the inner wall and 
pillars fell in, so that the place — still beautiful in the last 
stage of ruin — became a pathetic monument to the splen- 
dours of a by-gone day. It was pulled down in May last, 
by order of President Yuan Shih-k'ai, ostensibly because 
it had become unsafe and because the site was required 
for the erection of barracks, but really because its upper 
storey dominated the Palace enclosure at the point where 
the President's residence is located, and might have been 
used, by mutinous troops, for " sniping " purposes. The 
history of the building of this Mosque, by the Emperor 
Ch'ien Lung, is as pathetic in its way as was the ruined 
shrine, and it has this merit that its main facts are 
unquestionably true. 

During the first campaign in Sungaria, Ch'ien Lung 
heard rumours of the remarkable beauty of the wife of 
one of the tribal chiefs, a Mahomedan named Ali Arslan, 
then in arms against him. She was known all over 
the western frontier-land as the " Model Beauty " ; and 
celebrated for the softness of her skin, upon which she 
never used cosmetics. At a farewell audience given to 
his Commander-in-chief, Chao Hui, Ch'ien Lung casually 
told him of the reports he had heard of this lady and bade 
him do his best to secure her for his Court. After the 
successful end of the war, when the Prince, her husband, 
had committed suicide, Chao Hui took her prisoner and 
brought her to Peking. He sent couriers ahead to inform 
the Emperor of his success. Ch'ien Lung, greatly pleased, 
gave orders that special honours should be shown to her en 
route, and that every care be taken lest the hardships of 

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the journey should impair her beauty. Besides this, he 
ordered Chao Hui to see to it that she did not commit 
suicide. 

On arrival at Peking she was quartered in the western 
Palace by the southern lake.^ She was officially known as 
the Hsiang (Fragrant) Concubine, but more commonly 
referred to as the Stranger (K'o) Concubine. At first she 
seemed quite contented, indifferent to her former husband's 
death and the ruin of her tribe. But when Ch'ien Lung 
approached her, she remained coldly silent, refusing to 
utter a word in reply to his questions. 

Ch'ien Lung bade some of his concubines, in whose 
powers of persuasion he had confidence, to tell her of the 
high destinies which awaited her. Her only reply was to 
draw a dagger from her sleeve. Asked what this meant, 
she replied : " My tribe is destroyed and my husband is 
dead. Long since I have resolved on death, but when I 
die, it shall not be alone, like any meek peasant girl perish- 
ing by the roadside. I mean to avenge my lord's memory 
by slaying his enemy. If the Emperor forces me to become 
his concubine, I shall kill him and myself too." The 
Palace women, horrified, bade her attendants take the 
dagger from her. She smiled : " Whatever you may do, 
I shall find a way. As for you, if you do not cease from 
troubling me, I shall kill one of you first." 

Despairing of persuading her, they reported what she 
had said to the Emperor. He saw that for the moment 
it was hopeless to try to win her, but he often visited 
her apartments and sat for a short time in her company, 
believing that time would heal her wound and that she 
would ultimately come to regard him with favour. At 
the same time he had her carefully guarded, to prevent 
her from making any attempt on his life. When she 

^ The building in which she Uved and mourned is now the main 
gate-hall of the President's Palace, known as the Hsin Hua-men, or 
Gate of New China. 

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ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

found that she was continually watched, she seemed to 
abandon the idea of suicide : but one day after she had 
been in the Palace about two years, her attendants reported 
that on the occasion of the Moslem New Year, she had 
been found weeping bitterly. It was then that Ch'ien 
Lung gave orders for a mosque to be built just outside the 
Lake Palace, on the south side, which she would be able 
to see from her residence, the Tower of the Jewelled Moon. 
Houses and shops were built there exactly like those of 
her native Sungaria, in the hope of giving comfort to her 
wounded spirit. The spot was known as the Moslem 
Encampment. 

Now the Empress Dowager, then in her eightieth year, 
had great influence over her son. She was sorely distressed 
at Ch'ien Lung's infatuation, and feared for him the risk 
of assassination. So she said to him : "As the woman is 
obstinately resolved not to yield to your advances, and 
as she is sick of life — why not put her to death? Or at 
least send her back to her own home, and trouble yourself 
no more about her." But the Emperor could not bear 
the idea of losing her, so, hoping against hope, he continued 
to wait. At last, on the day of the winter solstice, when 
he was due to be absent from the Palace and to spend 
the night in the Hall of Fasting at the Temple of Heaven, 
the Empress Dowager determined to act. 

She waited until the Emperor had quitted the Palace, 
and then sent a messenger to bid the " Model Beauty " 
attend her at the Palace of Motherly Tranquillity. 
When she had come into the presence, the outer gates of the 
Palace were made fast. " I hear that you will not submit 
to His Majesty," said the Empress sternly. " What is 
it that you propose to do? " She replied, " I mean to 
die." " So be it ! I am ready to grant you the privilege 
of committing suicide, here and now." The unhappy 
woman expressed her gratitude by kotowing several times. 
" Your Majesty the Empress Dowager is showing me 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

undeserved kindness in thus meeting my wishes. I 
submitted to the ignominy of being compelled to make 
this long journey under escort, in the hope that I should 
not die alone, that I might be able to avenge my husband's 
memory by a deed which would stagger the Empire. 
But this cannot be, for I am too closely guarded. What 
then is the use of my continuing this useless and aimless 
existence? Is it not far better that I should re-join my 
late lord in the other world and close my eyes, satisfied, 
in death? I thank Your Majesty for your grace in 
acceding to my wishes, and, in the realms of Hades, 
shall not forget your benevolence," As she made an 
end of speaking the tears welled from her eyes. The 
Empress, greatly touched, bade a eunuch convey her 
immediately to a room in one of the wings of the Palace, 
where she hanged herself to a beam. 

The Emperor was at the Hall of Fasting, but a confi- 
dential eunuch came running to tell him that his beloved 
concubine had been summoned to the presence of the 
Empress Dowager. Fearing the worst, in great distress 
of mind, he set out in all haste for the Palace, although 
in so doing he violated the rule which required him to 
remain in the Hall of Fasting till the morrow. On his 
arrival, finding the doors of the Empress Dowager's Palace 
barred, he stood there weeping, till the gates were opened 
and a eunuch said : " Her Majesty desires that you will 
repair to her presence." He entered, and the Empress 
took him to the side room where the concubine was 
hanging from the rafter, quite dead. There was no sign 
of pain or struggle on her beautiful and placid face. 
Ch'ien Lung was greatly grieved at her death, and had 
her buried with the honours of a concubine of the first 
rank. 

During the last decade of Ch'ien Lung's reign, the 
Government of China was practically concentrated in 

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ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

the hands of the Grand Secretary, Ho Shen, and of his 
proteges and partisans in the provinces. As his power 
increased, so did his ambition. During the three years 
which elapsed between the Emperor's abdication and his 
death (1796-99) his word was law in the land, and his 
fortune grew to an extent unparalleled in the history of 
China. He levied a fixed percentage on the pay of the 
troops and instituted a regular tariff for the sale of offices, 
so that it was said of him (as of Prince Ch'ing under 
Kuang Hsii) that his back door was a market-place for 
peacocks' feathers and buttons. His private residence 
was far more magnificent in its furnishings than the 
Emperor's Palace, and he had amassed a wealth of jade 
and jewels greater than all the Imperial treasure. It 
was inevitable that in a land where money is the beginning 
and end of politics, this man's vast fortune should expose 
him to the gravest dangers so soon as the protection of 
the Emperor was withdrawn. 

Ho Shen's origin was a humble one, though he showed 
no signs of it, his education and manners being sufficiently 
good to impress and charm Lord Macartney and his staff 
at Jehol. He was originally a sergeant of the Palace 
guards, and being strong and handsome in appearance, 
was specially selected to escort the Imperial sedan. 
From one of the diaries of the Manchu clansmen, above 
referred to, we take the following description of the manner 
in which he first won Ch'ien Lung's favour. When the 
Emperor was about fifty years of age, it happened one 
day that he was leaving the eastern gate of the Forbidden 
City in his chair, and as he was carried along, he was 
reading a memorial which had just reached him regarding 
an outbreak of rebellion in Ssu-ch'uan. The Everlasting 
Lord's face was clouded as he read, and his bearers over- 
heard him saying : "If the tiger or the rhinoceros escapes 
from its cage, if the gem be injured in the casket, who is 
to blame ? " This well-known quotation, from the Dis- 

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THE COURT OF PEKING 

courses of Confucius, means that the party responsible 
for a misfortune must expect to bear the blame. None 
of the bearers understood the allusion, but Ho Shen 
who was riding alongside said to them : " ' Yeh ' (the 
Master) means that officials holding responsible posts 
must be made accountable for every dereliction of duty." 

Ch'ien Lung heard this reply, and was pleased at the 
man's quick intelligence. He called to Ho Shen : "You 
are only a sergeant, but you have evidently read your 
Four Books to some purpose. Attend for audience 
after Our return to the Palace." The Emperor was so 
greatly delighted with his conversation at the audience 
which followed, that he gave him unparalleled promotion. 
His ready wit and prompt replies to Ch'ien Lung's epi- 
grams, which he capped with a pointed antithesis, appealed 
to the Emperor's literary tastes. He rose to be Viceroy, 
President of a Board and Grand Councillor, until at the 
last his power was supreme in the Empire. His educa- 
tion, from the scholar's point of view, was superficial, 
but he concealed his lack of learning under a remarkable 
talent for epigrams. He was appointed tutor to Prince 
Chia, who succeeded Ch'ien Lung on the Throne. Ho 
Shen disliked the young Prince, whose character was 
surly and generally unsympathetic, and did his best to 
dissuade Ch'ien Lung from selecting him as his Heir. 
It is recorded that on one occasion he lost his temper 
with his pupil and kicked him slightly. The insult was 
never forgotten or forgiven by Chia Ch'ing, and Ho 
Shen lived to regret that he had not adopted a more 
conciliatory attitude towards the Heir to the Throne. 

Until the death of Ch'ien Lung, however, it was Ho 
Shen, and not the future Emperor, who dominated the 
situation. After his abdication, Ch'ien Lung adopted 
the title of " Tai Shang-huang," or " Exalted Emperor 
who has vacated the Throne," but he continued to take 
an active part in State affairs, and for the remaining 

345 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

three years of his Hfe was always present at Imperial 
audiences, besides giving his decision on all decrees. At 
audience he sat in the Imperial seat, facing the south, 
while his son, Chia Ch'ing, sat on a small stool facing the 
west. It is recorded in the diary above mentioned, that 
one morning. Ho Shen, as doyen of the Council, came in 
as usual for audience, and knelt in waiting for a long 
time. His Majesty, the ex-Emperor, sat with closed 
eyes, as if in deep slumber, but all the while he could be 
heard muttering to himself. 

The Emperor Chia Ch'ing listened intently, but could 
not catch a word. At last Ch'ien Lung opened his eyes, 
saying : " What are the names of those men ? " Ho Shen 
promptly replied : " Kao T'ien-te and Kou Wen-ming." 
Ch'ien Lung closed his eyes again and repeated the names 
several times, after which he motioned to Ho Shen to 
leave the hall and not another word was uttered. No 
other audience was held on that day. 

Chia Ch'ing was greatly astonished, and a few days 
later summoned Ho to secret audience. " What was His 
Majesty saying to himself the other day, and what did 
those six syllables mean which you uttered in reply ? " 
Ho answered ; " His Majesty was reciting a famous 
Tibetan mystic spell, which means death to the person 
against whom it is uttered, at what ever distance he may 
be, even though he be perfectly well at the time. Your 
slave heard His Majesty uttering this incantation, and 
knew that the persons whom His Majesty wished to ban 
were the leaders in the White Lily conspiracy : therefore 
in answering him, I spoke their names." Chia Ch'ing 
laid this incident to heart, for Ho's proficiency in Budd- 
histic arts of incantation struck him as dangerous. After 
Ch'ien Lung's demise, two years later, this was one of 
the things which he remembered against Ho Shen. 



346 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE DOWNFALL OF HO SHEN 

As already stated, the old Emperor Ch'ien Lung con- 
tinued after his abdication to supervise all important 
business of State, and showed no signs of failing health 
until the autumn of 1798, when he was attacked by 
paralysis. He lingered on until February 7, 1799, 
when he died, at 8 a.m., on the third day of the Chinese 
new year, in the Hall of Mind Nurture. 

The opening of Chia Ch'ing's reign had not been 
auspicious; it seemed as if the zenith of prosperity had 
been reached in the sixtieth year of Ch'ien Lung (1795), 
and with that Monarch's abdication a period of decline 
set in. Rebellions had broken out in Hunan, Hupei 
and Kueichou, and the White Lily sect had become a 
power in the land. Ch'ien Lung had the mortification 
of feeling that he was leaving a disturbed Empire to his 
son, who was now in his thirty -ninth year, a man without 
natural ability, of suspicious and vindictive temperament. 

On the day after his father's death, Chia Ch'ing issued 
a decree complaining that the military operations against 
the rebels were being dragged on without appreciable 
result. With good cause he observed: "The Com- 
manders-in-chief do not seem to be in the least anxious 
to put down the rebellion, since they are able to enrich 
themselves and wax fat at the expense of the disturbed 
districts. They report mythical victories, and are lost 
to all sense of shame. Manchu bodyguardsmen and 

347 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

secretaries are all only too glad to proceed to the seat of 
trouble, but their zeal is not due to any patriotic motive. 
Penniless officials come back from service at the front 
with amply lined pockets. On their return to Peking 
they apply at once for leave to revisit their family tombs, 
not from a sense of filial respect, but in order to invest their 
ill-gotten gains in the purchase of land. All this money 
comes ultimately from the unfortunate people, plundered 
to satisfy their insatiable greed. No wonder, then, that 
more and more recruits join the rebels, and that none can 
foresee an end to the troubles. Not only are the rebels' 
numbers as great as ever, but their ranks are steadily 
increasing. 

*' My late father lost both sleep and appetite because of 
his anxiety at the spread of the rebellion, and with his 
last breath he asked whether there were any news of a 
victory at the front. In his valedictory mandate he left 
behind no instructions concerning other matters, pre- 
sumably because he left me with full authority to deal 
with them in my discretion. Until these lawless sects 
have been suppressed I shall feel myself unfilial towards 
my late father's memory. If my Grand Councillors and 
Generals in the field are all disloyal to the Throne, how 
can I comfort the soul of my father in Heaven? Is it 
the fact that they are indifferent to the fate which is 
about to visit them, and are content to be disloyal them- 
selves, as well as making their Emperor unfilial? 

" I cannot allow further leakages of funds to enrich the 
official class. Taxation cannot be increased, and the 
Government revenues should be ample for all needs. 
My father in his extreme old age became too lenient 
and bestowed high rewards upon the least report of a 
success. In the case of a reverse he would merely ad- 
minister a mild rebuke, and reinstate the offender so soon 
as he had retrieved his error. During the last few years 
Yung Pao alone was sent to prison for cowardice, and even 

348 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

he was promptly released. It is very certain that Yung 
Pao is not the only coward in our ranks ! Every trifling 
success is exaggerated and serious defeats are glossed 
over. Possibly the idea was to save my father distress, 
which at his age would have followed upon evil tidings, 
but in military matters accuracy is essential. There were 
always reports of terrible carnage on the rebels' side, but 
the figures were a tissue of falsehoods. 

" These abuses cannot be allowed to continue. I insist 
that I be informed of the true state of affairs. What good 
can come of representing a disgraceful defeat as a glorious 
victory? I am Lord of the Empire, and I require the 
truth above everything. All I care about is peace and 
plenty, absence of rebellion, and the contentment of my 
subjects. I shall show no mercy for misconduct in the 
field ; all my commanders will do well, therefore, to purge 
themselves of error and to clear their minds of cant. Let 
them exert themselves to restore the halcyon days of peace, 
otherwise they will be dealt with by martial law. My 
words will be followed up by action ; do not imagine that 
your new Sovereign can be hoodwinked ! " 

The above decree was specially directed at Ho Shen 
and his party, which included the majority of high officials, 
both civil and military. Four days later a decree was 
issued, in response to memorials from the ever servile 
Censorate, which stripped Ho Shen of all his offices and 
commanded his imprisonment in the Board of Punish- 
ments, together with Fu Ch'ang-an, the President of the 
Board of Revenue. Ho Shen was Comptroller-General 
of two boards, and held a plurality of offices. Chia Ch'ing 
placed his elder brother. Prince Ch'eng, on the Council 
and made him Comptroller of a Board, although this was 
contrary to dynastic house-law. Further sweeping 
changes were made, and many of Ch'ien Lung's trusted 
Ministers were summarily dismissed before he had been 
dead a week. Such hasty action, while the Court was in 

349 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

deep mourning, was regarded by the orthodox as ex- 
tremely unfiKal. Chia Ch'ing endeavoured to justify his 
action on the ground that, had his father been ahve, he 
would have cordially endorsed the curt dismissal of those 
whom he had delighted to honour. We have already 
alluded to the frequency with which, under the Manchus, 
the favourites of the old regime have been dismissed by the 
new, but Chia Ch'ing acted with almost indecent haste.^ 

Two days later, on the 9th, he issued the following 
decree concerning Ho Shen's offences : " Ho Shen re- 
ceived extraordinary favours from His departed Majesty, 
and was promoted from the low position of Imperial 
guardsman to the highest offices, which he has held for 
nigh on twenty years. He has been steeped in the lavish 
bounty of my late father to an extent unparalleled in the 
history of the Court. The arduous duties of Government 
have now devolved on me by inheritance, and my father's 
demise finds me ' sleeping on a straw mat and pillowed 
on a clod.' ^ My thoughts dwell ever on the Confucian 
precept : ' For three years after a parent's death none of 
his former surroundings should be changed.' But all 
within and without the wide seas realise my late sire's 
reverence for Heaven, his obedience to ancestral tradition, 
his diligence in government, and affection for his people. 
His example stands out as a shining light for my house 
and dynasty to follow for all time; how, then, should a 
period of three years suffice for obedience to his behests ? 
I could not find it in my heart to dismiss from office any 
of my father's Ministers, even were they guilty of offences. 
I should take into consideration any extenuating circum- 
stances to mitigate their punishment. I am sure that 
His Sacred Majesty is at this moment fully conscious of 
my sincerity and concurs in my sentiments. 

^ When Chia Ch'ing died, struck by lightning, the orthodox regarded 
it as Heaven's chastisement for his lack of filial piety. 
2 A classical metaphor for a son's mourning. 

350 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" But as regards Ho Shen, his crimes are too grave to 
admit of possible pardon, for he has been impeached on 
many counts by the Censorate. I therefore placed him 
under arrest two days ago, and shall now proceed to 
state his offences seriatim for general information. 

" On the 3rd day of the 9th Moon of the 60th year of 
Ch'ien Lung, Ho Shen presented me with a jade sceptre, 
intending thereby to signify that I had been nominated 
successor to the Throne. He thus betrayed a State 
secret, in the hope that I should consider myself beholden 
to him for advancing my claims with the late Emperor. 

" In the spring of last year the late Emperor was at 
the Summer Palace, and summoned Ho Shen to audience. 
He actually presumed to ride on horseback through the 
central gate, past the main Imperial Hall, right up to the 
entrance of my father's apartments. Could any action 
equal this in base presumption, as if he had forgotten 
what was due to his Sovereign and father ! Pleading an 
affection of the leg, he would enter the Forbidden City in 
a chair borne by bearers. He was the observed of all 
observers as he passed calmly in and out of the Gate of 
Divine Military Prowess, without the smallest vestige of 
shame or compunction. 

" He even dared to appropriate to his own use, as 
secondary wives, women who had been employed as 
handmaidens in the Palace. 

" After the outbreak of the Hupei and Ssu-ch'uan re- 
bellion, propagated by seditious sects, my father used 
eagerly to await news from the front, sitting up until late 
into the night, taking neither food nor sleep. But Ho 
Shen deceived him, deliberately suppressing and even 
falsifying reports from the field, so that the operations 
have dragged on and on. 

" My father appointed him Comptroller-General of the 
Board of Civil Offices and Punishments, and at the same 
time, because of his knowledge of finance, appointed him 

351 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

to supervise and direct the proceedings of the Board of 
Revenue. The result of this was the estabUshment of 
a one-man power; soon none dared oppose him. 

" Last winter my father's health was bad, so that his 
handwriting on rescripts was sometimes illegible. Ho 
Shen actually presumed on one occasion to say : ' Better 
tear off that rescript and use one that I have written 
instead.' 

" Last month Ho Shen suppressed an official report from 
Kokonor concerning robbery under arms by bands of 
Mahomedans, who had murdered two Tibetan merchants, 
in the employ of the Dalai Lama. He returned the 
memorial to the sender and made no report to the Throne. 

" After my late father's death I gave orders that any 
Mongol Princes and Dukes who had not had the small- 
pox should be excused from coming to Peking. Ho Shen 
disregarded these orders, and stopped all Mongol Princes 
from coming, whether they had had smallpox or not. 
In so doing, he violated the Throne's policy of showing 
courtesy to vassals. His motives defy conjecture. 

" The Grand Secretary Su-ling-a was stone deaf, far 
gone in senile dotage. He was, however, the father-in- 
law of Ho Lin, Ho Shen's brother, and for this reason the 
Throne was never advised of his utter incapacity. Wu 
Sheng-lan, the Vice-president, and Li Kuang-yiin, Director 
of the Imperial stud, were originally tutors at Ho Shen's 
private residence, which alone accounts for their ex- 
traordinary advancement. In fact. Ho Shen was a dictator, 
and did not hesitate to dismiss secretaries on the Grand 
Council at his own sweet will. 

" Ho Shen's property has just been examined. It 
appears that he has built himself a mansion of Imperial 
cedar wood, the use of which constitutes Use majeste on 
the part of a subject; the style of architecture is in exact 
imitation of the late Emperor's Palace of Imperial Longe- 
vity in the Forbidden City, whilst the pleasure gardens 

352 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

and pavilions are copied from the scheme of decoration 
used in the ' Terrace of the Fortunate Isles ' at the 
Summer Palace. Into his motives in this matter let us 
not inquire too closely ! 

" Amongst his jewels and precious stones he has collected 
two hundred pearl necklaces, a number greatly exceeding 
those in the Imperial Palace. He possesses one particular 
pearl far superior, both in size and lustre, to that worn by 
me in the Imperial hat of State. ^ In his collection there are 
jewels which were meant exclusively for the Emperor's 
use and to which he had no right ; the number of his uncut 
stones is legion, far surpassing those of the Imperial house- 
hold. The inventory of his hoard of bullion is incomplete, 
but the amount is certainly several million ounces. 

" Such a career of venality and corruption may be 
called unique. Ho Shen has acknowledged the truth of 
each separate count of the above indictment, after under- 
going a severe examination ^ at the hands of the Princes 
and Ministers. 

" The fact now stands clearly revealed that Ho Shen is 
a deep-dyed traitor, lost to all moral sense, who has be- 
trayed his Sovereign and jeopardised the State. As self- 
constituted dictator he has usurped supreme authority. 

^ The famous pearl worn in the Imperial hat was known as the K'ang 
Lung Chiao Tzu (" The azure dragon instructing posterity "). The pearl 
in Ho Shen's collection here referred to was even more famous. It 
was called the Cheng Ta Kuang ming (" Of glorious good omen"), and had 
been brought to the Ming Emperor Yung-Lo from Ceylon by one of his 
eunuch envoys in the 15th century. It disappeared from the Palace, 
stolen by the eunuch Wei Chung- hsien, in 1625, and remained in the 
South till 1781, when it was sent as tribute to Ch'ien Lung from Chekiang 
and appropriated by Ho Shen. There was an ancient prophecy con- 
cerning it, that its loss would always mean ruin to the dynasty. After 
Chia Ch'ing had confiscated it from Ho Shen's estate, he referred to this 
prophecy. The last occasion on which it was seen at Court was at the 
Empress Lung Yii's reception to the ladies of the Diplomatic Body in 
1911, when the child Emperor Hsiian T'ung wore it in his cap. Rumour 
declares that it was stolen in August 1911 by a eunuch named Shen 
Lo-t'ing. 

2 Under torture. 

AA 353 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

He has lent himself to the most flagrant abuses, but his 
venal greed and insatiate lust for lucre are comparatively 
light crimes as compared with the depths of his treason. 

" To my father, who lavished favours upon him, he was 
guilty of most wanton ingratitude. Had any of his 
colleagues impeached him years ago, my father, in his 
divine wisdom, would surely have decreed his immediate 
decapitation, but not a word was ever breathed against 
him. My officials may now pretend that their silence was 
due to a loyal desire to avoid causing distress to my aged 
father, but I know all too well that the real reason lay in 
their fear of Ho Shen's power. That alone kept their lips 
sealed. 

" Ho Shen's offences against my father are innumerable, 
exceeding in number the hairs of the head. If I condone 
them, how can I comfort the soul of my father in Heaven ? 
The necessity for painful measures is forced upon me; I 
shall be glad to know the opinion of my Viceroys and 
Governors in the matter. My metropolitan officials have 
already been ordered to advise as to the sentence to be 
inflicted; Viceroys and Governors are hereby ordered 
to submit their views, together with any further details of 
Ho Shen's crimes that may be within their knowledge." 

When the Great Man falls in China he brings down 
many in his ruin. Chia Ch'ing's blood was up; he com- 
menced a general proscription against the proteges of Ho 
Shen in high places, making careful selection of those with 
squeezable estates. The first victim was the Manchu 
Governor of Shantung. The decree concerning him said : 
" Amongst the memorials received by Imperial courier 
to-day from I-chiang-a, Governor of Shantung, I find a 
private letter addressed to Ho Shen, which states that 
the Governor had learned that the late Emperor had 
' become a guest on high,' and goes on to exhort Ho Shen 
to subdue his grief and devote himself to his duties. He 
ignores me entirely, saying nothing about the awful loss 

354 



THEJ COURT OF PEKING 

which I have sustained, though even the ordinary social 
relations of private life and common politeness require 
that a line of sympathy and condolence be addressed to 
a son who had just lost a father. I-chiang-a, in fact, sets 
himself to console Ho Shen, bidding him moderate his 
grief, but to me he sends only a routine memorial asking 
after my health, after which he proceeds to report on the 
affairs of his province, as if nothing unusual had occurred. 
The Provincial Treasurer, Wu Hsiian-kuang, is a Chinese, 
and not a Manchu like I-chiang-a, but he has had the 
grace and good feeling to send me a memorial expressive 
of the deepest sympathy and couched in most touching 
terms. Immediately on hearing of the late Emperor's 
death he wrote beseeching me to take comfort, writing, 
in fact, as a Minister should write to his Sovereign. 
I-chiang-a, a Manchu and the son of a Grand Secretary, 
cannot plead ignorance of etiquette, especially as he 
served for many years as Secretary of the Grand Council. 
He treats my father's death with callous hardness, and 
by thus tactfully condoling with Ho Shen, shows all too 
plainly that my father was nothing to him in the past 
and that I am nothing to him in the present. It is Ho 
Shen whom he worships and flatters. He is a monster 
of black ingratitude, and I transmit to him hereby my 
stern rebuke, besides demanding an explanation and 
referring his case to the proper Ministry for the determina- 
tion of a penalty." 

In due course I-chiang-a forwarded an explanatory 
memorial, but it failed to appease the Emperor. " He 
now puts forward the cunning quibble that the official 
intimation of my father's death had not reached him. 
He adds that he has never had any personal relations 
with Ho Shen, and wrote merely to express the hope 
that this national loss would inspire Ho Shen to display 
zeal and devotion for the State. All this is simply 
ridiculous ; what devotion to the State could be expected 

355 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

from a man like Ho Shen, whose crimes have now been 
made manifest to the world, and whose whole career is 
one long record of self-seeking corruption ? If I-chiang-a 
were really unacquainted with Ho Shen, will he kindly 
inform me into whose pocket went the extra receipts under 
the heading of tribute rice, in regard to which matter 
he has already been denounced? I-chiang-a has been 
guilty of grave offences. He is hereby cashiered and 
ordered to Peking to await my further pleasure." 

Referring to the tribute from the provinces, Chia Ch'ing 
declared that Ho Shen had retained nine-tenths of it, 
and that Ch'ien Lung had been disgracefully cheated. 
He issued a decree forbidding any further remittances 
of tribute in kind from the provinces, excepting only 
medicines, sables and pearls from Manchuria, ginseng and 
porcelain. He particularly objected to the annual pre- 
sentation of Ju-i ("As you like it ") sceptres from each 
province to the Throne, and remarked that to him these 
articles were anything but pleasing, inasmuch as the 
people were taxed to provide them. 

At the Emperor's word, Ho Shen's friends and followers 
now began to fall away from him. The Viceroy of Chihli, 
Hu Chi-t'ang, who owed all he had to Ho Shen, turned, 
after the manneivof the mandarin, on his patron in dis- 
grace, and thus memorialised the Throne : " Ho Shen is 
bereft of moral sense ; he cannot be regarded as a human 
being. His dastardly treason to the Throne and cruel 
oppression of the people have put him on a level with the 
rebels in the west. Infatuate in his madness, he knows 
no law, human or divine ; basely ungrateful, he wallows 
in crime. I beg to recommend that he be sentenced to 
the lingering death. I have also ascertained that in his 
usurping arrogance he has built himself a lordly sepulchre 
at Chi-chou, as magnificent as the Imperial tombs." 

After receiving these thoroughly impartial views from 
the Viceroys and Governors, Chia Ch'ing (whose talent 

356 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

for long-winded reiteration exceeded even that of Yung 
Cheng) proceeded once more to recapitulate the list of 
Ho Shen's crimes. He recited twenty of them with 
much wealth of detail, and observed that there were more 
behind, though the whole Court was well aware that the 
fallen Minister's one vital crime was his enormous wealth. 
Once more, playing to the gallery and posterity, the 
indignant Monarch asks the Court to deliberate upon an 
adequate sentence. 

Of Ho Shen's fellow- victim and offender, Fu Ch'ang-an, 
he observes : " Fu Ch'ang-an's grandsire, sire, uncle, and 
brothers all received hereditary honours from the Throne. 
Fu Ch'ang-an himself served for years on the Grand 
Council ; his daily relations with Ho Shen were of the very 
closest kind. He knew full well the nature of Ho Shen's 
disgraceful greed; moreover, as he was constantly in 
intimate attendance on my late father, privileged to have 
access to his presence when alone, he could, had he so 
wished, have informed His late Majesty of Ho Shen's 
treasonable and ambitious designs, and my father would 
have realised that such a warning, based on intimate 
knowledge, was worthy of confidence and serious attention. 
In that case, there can be no doubt that Ho Shen would 
long ago have suffered the penalty of death, and the 
State would not then have had to deplore the present 
disastrous condition of affairs. 

*' If he really thought that the shock of such a revelation 
would have been dangerous to my aged father, why did 
not Fu Ch'ang-an report the matter to myself? But 
during the three years that have elapsed since my acces- 
sion, not a syllable has he ever uttered about Ho Shen's 
guilt; his silence proves him to have been an accomplice 
and abettor. Had he even hinted to me of Ho Shen's 
crimes, I should have spared him to-day. As it is, the 
schedule of his confiscated property, though vastly less 
than that of Ho Shen, discloses total assets considerably 

357 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

exceeding ten million taels, which must surely be regarded 
as excessive for a man in his position. His remorseless 
greed is second only to that of the chief culprit. I com- 
mand, therefore, that the two cases be treated identically, 
and a report submitted accordingly." 

On the 17th, a fortnight after the death of the old 
Emperor, the Grand Secretaries and Ministers submitted 
their report. Many of them owed their advancement 
in life to Ho Shen, but the ship was sinking and the rats 
made haste to leave it. The fallen Minister's friends 
fell from him — none so poor to do him reverence. They 
advised the Throne to inflict the lingering death on Ho 
Shen and decapitation on Fu Ch'ang-an, the former being 
found guilty of high treason and the latter of having been 
an accomplice before the fact. Ho Shen's usurpation of 
supreme power constituted, they declared, a capital 
offence, excluding him from all hope of mercy at the 
hands of the law. 

Chia Ch'ing had now observed the usual hypocritical 
decencies, and saved his face in the orthodox manner by 
placing on his Court the nominal responsibility for the 
official murdering of Ho Shen and the plundering of his 
vast estate. His object being to possess himself of the 
wretched Minister's ill-gotten wealth, he could afford to 
dispense with the lingering death, so long as death in some 
form were inflicted. His next decree, therefore, took into 
gracious consideration " the undesirability of executing 
the chief Minister of State like a common felon in the 
public square, and, because the Court was in mourning, 
allowed him the privilege of committing suicide, as a 
mark of high favour, and out of regard to the dignity of 
the nation." As to Fu Ch'ang-an, " as his property does 
not amount to a tenth of that illegally amassed by Ho 
Shen, his punishment is commuted to confinement pend- 
ing decapitation." ^ As a refinement of clemency, the 
^ A sentence equivalent to imprisonment for life. 
358 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Emperor ordered that Fu Ch'ang-an was to be taken 
under guard to Ho Shen's place of confinement and there 
compelled, on his knees, to witness his late chief's suicide, 
after which he was to be escorted back to prison. 

Ho Shen's brother, Ho Lin, had received an hereditary 
dukedom from His Majesty Ch'ien Lung in recognition 
of his meritorious services in Tibet, and his name had 
been inscribed amongst those of the heroes of the dynasty 
in a side-shrine of the Temple of Ancestors. Chia Ch'ing, 
after contemptuous references to Ho Lin's capacity and 
career, ordered that his dukedom be taken from him and 
that his shrine in the august company of the nation's 
heroes be dismantled and overthrown.^ 

One of Ho Shen's sons had married an Imperial Princess, 
Chia Ch'ing's sister, and as it would have been incon- 
sistent with the dignity of the Imperial family to reduce 
him to the rank of a plebeian, he was permitted to retain 
an hereditary earldom, on the understanding that he was 
to be confined to his own premises and behave himself 
circumspectly. Other members of the family were de- 
graded, and the whole clan was removed from the highest 
Manchu banner — to which Ch'ien Lung had promoted it — 
and ordered to revert to the Plain Red division. 

Ho Shen met his end with the calm dignity of a brave 
man and a philosopher. He was commanded to kneel 
and listen to Chia Ch'ing's long-winded decree ordering 
him to commit suicide. On its conclusion, he said : " His 
Majesty is most gracious; I thank him for his clemency." 
Then, after kotowing in the direction of the Palace, he 
addressed his son and Fu Ch'ang-an. To the latter he 
said: "We two have served our old master together; 
it is in accordance with ancient practice that the Minister 

^ In the eyes of the orthodox, Chia Ch'ing by this act reached the 
lowest depths of filial impiety, and became a criminal in the sight of 
God and men. This sin was sufficient in itself to accoimt for the 
subsequent visitation of Heaven's wrath upon him. 

359 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

should follow his lord to the Nine Springs. I shall now 
attend His sainted Majesty, as of old, and receive his wise 
counsel. The present Emperor has loyal servants about 
him and is well rid of men such as you and I." 

Then he mounted the dais and hanged himself, tying 
the noose without assistance. His last words were : " His 
late Majesty will feel indignant wrath in the Halls of 
Hades." This was at 1 p.m. In a minute or two life 
was extinct. When the news of his death was brought 
in haste to the mean-spirited Chia Ch'ing, they found him 
kneeling before his father's coffin offering propitiatory 
libations of wine. 

Peking was greatly excited, and the official world went 
in terror of a wholesale proscription, such as took place 
when the eunuch Wei Chung-hsien held sway at the end 
of the Ming dynasty. Chia Ch'ing was urged by his two 
elder brothers to issue a reassuring decree. Knowing 
himself to be extremely unpopular, and fearful of assassina- 
tion, he followed this advice. He said, in his best manner : 
" Ho Shen is dead. Unless the Empire's chief cause of evil 
were pulled up by the roots, how could my Government be 
purified and officialdom purged of its corroding influence ? 
His case is concluded, but he held at his disposal many 
of the highest posts, and his partisans in Peking are legion. 
The provinces swarm with the sycophants who fawned at 
his gate and bribed their unlawful way into his favour. 
Should I proceed to investigate every case I would have 
to indite at least seventy per cent, of the higher officials, 
which is clearly impracticable, for there would be no 
means of making the punishment fit the crime. The times 
are out of joint. So many and great abuses exist in our 
Government that time fails me to recapitulate them, I 
have mentioned the worst in my decrees regarding Ho Shen. 
But if my officials misconstrue my motives and begin 
denouncing their private enemies to me on trivial grounds, 
inventing plausible evidence for the wreaking of old 

360 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

grudges, there will be no end to the reign of terror and no 
one will be safe. I have no desire to be at the head of a 
party, nor to allow my Government to be divided into 
opposing groups, each animated by vindictive feelings 
towards the other. 

" I dealt severely with Ho Shen because his usurping 
ambition jeopardised the safety of the State; his venal 
corruption and subterraneous trafficking were compara- 
tively trivial offences. After I decided to strike I struck 
promptly and without mercy. But if only warning be 
taken for the future, I am ready to let bygones be bygones. 
I trust, therefore, that none of you will harbour nervous 
fears. Most of you are men of second-rate abilities, but 
if you will exert yourselves conscientiously in the service 
of the State, there is no reason why you should not im- 
prove in course of time. Some of you in your haste have 
gone astray; you must now cleanse your hearts and 
purge yourselves of error in the hope of becoming respect- 
able members of society and not mere wastrels and en- 
cumbrances. Trembling obey this my mandate ; let the 
whetstone of conscience make you keen to conform to my 
desire for the dawn of a better day ! " (With many more 
platitudes to the same effect.) 

Chia Ch'ing's decrees are sufficient in themselves to 
show that his first idea, upon the death of his father, was 
to deprive Ho Shen of his power and his fortune, and this 
from purely vindictive and avaricious motives. But be- 
cause " face-saving " traditions and the elaborate parade 
of elementary justice retained with him and with his 
Court an atavistic force of instinct, the judicial murder 
of his Chief Minister and the plundering of his worldly 
goods had to be carried out with due observance of time- 
honoured formalities and retributive justice. There could 
be no doubt that he and his immediate adherents, jealous 
of Ho Shen's wealth and power, had long since planned the 
impeachment and destruction of Ch'ien Lung's favourite, 

361 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

but when the time came, they were careful to cover the 
infamy of their proceedings with a fine texture of plausible 
justification. The Emperor's sole motives were jealousy 
and greed, but he compelled his victim, under torture, to 
invest them with the virtue of righteous indignation. 

In the ransacked and chaotic jumble of the Grand 
Council's archives, a portion of the original report sub- 
mitted by the Council on the indictment of Ho Shen has 
recently been found. Unfortunately, most of this docu- 
ment is missing, but what remains is extremely interesting. 
The first portion is a memorandum of His Majesty's orders, 
verbally communicated, concerning the several matters 
on which the Imperial Commissioners were directed to 
cross-examine the prisoner, under torture if necessary. 
It is unnecessary to reproduce the whole of this dossier, 
but the Emperor's first two questions may be quoted as 
proof of his grasping and thoroughly sordid intentions. 

The first question was : " Amongst the mass of 
property seized in your various residences I find a quantity 
of ceilings and panellings of Imperial cedar wood, the use 
of which by a subject is tantamount to gross Use majeste. 
All the furniture and fittings of this woodwork are an 
exact reproduction of those in the Palace of Tranquil 
Longevity. What was your motive in committing these 
acts of treason ? Did you aspire to the Throne ? 

Ho Shen's reply (real or alleged) amounted, as did all 
the rest of his statements under " cross-examination," to 
an unqualified and humble confession of guilt. There can 
be no doubt that if he made the statements recorded 
against him, he did so because he knew that his doom was 
sealed, and wished to save himself and his persecutors 
further trouble. His answer to the above question is set 
down as follows : 

" Your slave had no right to have in his private residence 
ceilings and panellings of Imperial cedar, with screens 
and woodwork in imitation of those in the Palace. The 

362 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

fact is, I sent a eunuch named Hu to the Palace to have 
the fittings copied. The cedar wood I purchased myself, 
but it is true that I took from the Palace several pillars 
of crystal and glass. For this your slave deserves to die 
the death." 

The second question was : " Amongst the great assort- 
ment of pearls and jewels which were seized yesterday at 
your residences and handed over to me for inspection, I 
find over two hundred exquisite Court necklaces of pearls. 
I, the Emperor, only possess about eighty Court necklaces, 
including those formerly worn by my grandfather and 
great-grandfather. Your necklaces outnumber mine three 
to one. Amongst your large single pearls there is one 
much larger than the one I wear in my official hat. You 
have no right to wear such a pearl. How did you acquire 
this immense collection ? Besides, you have innumerable 
quantities of other gems, more lustrous and larger than any 
I possess. Is not this of itself convincing proof of your 
covetous wickedness ? " 

To this Ho Shen replied giving the names of the various 
officials from whom he had received presents of pearls 
and other jewels, chiefly military commanders. 

For the rest, the wretched man either confessed, or 
was reported to have confessed, that all the other charges 
against him, as set forth in the Emperor's indictment, 
were true. He had " appropriated Imperial handmaidens 
of exceptional comeliness for his own purposes " ; he 
had ridden on horseback in the Forbidden City; he had 
revealed State secrets and suppressed despatches from 
the seat of rebellion; he had prevented the Mongol 
mission from coming to Peking, and done many other 
evil things, for all of which, " he deserved to die a thousand 
deaths." 

But all these interesting formalities, in the case of a 
man irretrievably condemned before this farce of an 
" inquiry " began, were nothing more than by-play, as 

363 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

the Court was well aware; an empty parade of legality 
intended to serve the purposes of " historical accuracy " 
in the dynastic records. The real object of the inquiry 
was to elicit from Ho Shen the total amount of his property 
and the places in which it was to be found. In this matter 
he was less frankly communicative ; after three " examina- 
tions," the list of his possessions included 60 million 
ounces of silver; 27,000 ounces of gold; 56 necklaces 
and bracelets of pearls; 456 rubies and 113 sapphires. 
The large Court necklaces were not included in the 
official schedule, because the Emperor had confiscated 
them for his own use on the day that they were handed 
to him for inspection. (The famous pearl-embroidered 
jacket, frequently worn by the Empress Dowager 
Tzu Hsi, was similarly confiscated from Ho Shen's 
collection.) 

Ho Shen had to be repeatedly and severely beaten 
before he declared the total amount and the hiding-places 
of his wealth. Eventually, after the Eighth Prince and 
two Grand Secretaries had personally superintended the 
" inquiry " and the application of severe torture, Ho Shen 
disclosed the fact that most of his treasure was buried in 
his garden outside the city. Prince Ting, a grandson of 
Ch'ien Lung, was sent to dig it up, whilst the Eleventh 
Prince, with two other Grand Secretaries, made a thorough 
search of all the victim's city residences. The Court was 
hot on the scent for loot. 

Eight days later the treasure-hunters sent in their 
report. Ho Shen's property was classified under 109 
schedules, 26 of which showed a total value of 223 millions 
of taels (roughly at that time, 70 millions sterling). These 
figures, the result of an official valuation, were quoted 
in an Imperial decree, and may be regarded as approxi- 
mately correct. His entire estate, roughly calculated on 
the same basis, must have been worth about 900 millions 
of taels. The bullion confiscated was handed over to the 

364 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Board of Revenue, ostensibly for the campaign against 
the rebels in Ssu-ch'uan and Hupei. 

The official inventory, under the first 26 schedules 
of Ho Shen's estate, deals principally with his main 
residence, which Chia Ch'ing, in his disinterested zeal for 
the purity of the State, presented to his younger brother, 
Prince Ch'ing.^ The gardens to the east of it, adjoining 
the Lake of the Ten Pagodas (Shih ch'a hai), were given 
to another of his brothers. Prince Ch'eng, and until quite 
recently belonged to his descendant, the " Beileh" Hsiao. 

The flower garden, presented to Ho Shen by Ch'ien 
Lung himself, was one of the wonders of the capital. It 
contained sixty-four pavilions, some of them decorated 
with Imperial yellow tiles, and had high towers at its four 
corners, after the design of the Palace precincts, which 
was undoubtedly inviting disaster. In these towers Ho 
Shen kept a considerable force of night watchmen under 
arms to protect his vast wealth ; there were 420 altogether 
in the pleasure garden. 

Ho Shen's wealth was indeed sufficient to excite the 
jealous cupidity of a small-minded man like Chia Ch'ing. 
To be very rich is always dangerous under an Oriental 
Court, but the hoarding instinct is usually stronger than 
the fear of death itself in a race with which the horror 
of poverty seems, through ages of the fiercest life-struggle, 
to have accumulated the blind force of unreasoning 
instinct. The manner in which the Great Man invested 
and concealed his riches was typical of his class, and not 
without interest as illustrating the economic conditions 
then obtaining. To-day, the much-looted modern man- 
darin has discovered new and safer means of investing 
his money — ^in the fixed deposits of European banks and 

^ The western half of Ho Shen's residence is now the property of his 
grandson by adoption, the venal Prince Ch'ing, whose corrupt practices 
were notorious throughout the latter part of the reign of Tzu Hsi. The 
eastern half, divided from it by a street, is the Palace of Prince Hsiao. 

365 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

real estate at the Treaty Ports; but until 1900, the 
methods adopted by Ho Shen were those common to the 
wealthy official class. 

According to the 26 schedules above mentioned, Ho 
Shen was the owner of 75 pawnshops, 13 curio-shops, 
two storehouses of white jade and two of silk. In his 
fur treasury there were 1907 rare fox skins and 67,000 
other pelts. He had a separate storehouse for sables 
and fur coats, in which were found 1417 fine sable robes 
and over 4000 other fur garments, together with large 
quantities of sable-lined boots and hats. His wood 
treasury was a building of 22 rooms, containing 8640 
pieces of the choicest woods. The contents of the pawnshops 
and curio-shops alone were valued at 60 millions of taels. 

His private residences were furnished with a magnificence 
which the China of to-day knows only by tradition, the 
magnificence of art treasures accumulated through long 
centuries, but which, looted in successive rebellions, 
or sold by their impoverished owners, have gradually 
found their way into the hands of foreigners and left 
the country for ever. The list of curios found in Ho 
Shen's principal residence included amongst others the 
following objects : 

11 bronze tripods of the Han dynasty. 

18 jade tripods. 
711 antique ink slabs (some of the Sung dynasty). 

28 Imperial gongs, of jade. 

10 ancient Japanese swords. 

38 European clocks, inlaid with gems. 
140 gold and enamel watches. 
226 pearl bracelets. 
288 large rubies, 4070 sapphires. 

10 trees of coral, 3 feet 8 inches high. 

22 statues, in white jade, representing the Goddess 
of Mercy, the Lohans, etc. 
366 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

18 solid gold Lohans, 2 feet 4 inches high. 
9000 sceptres " Ju-i " of solid gold, each weighing 
forty-eight ounces. 
507 jade sceptres, several of them engraved upon the 
handle with original verses by the Emperor 
Ch'ien Lung. 
3411 small jade sceptres. 
500 pairs of chopsticks, ivory and gold. 

A gold table service of 4288 pieces; another 
similar service of silver. 
99 large soup-bowls of topaz; 154 of jade. 
124 wine beakers of white jade. 
18 plates of jade and eighteen of topaz, forty inches 
in diameter. 
2390 snuff -bottles of jade, cornelian and topaz. 

1 solid rock of jade, carved and engraved with poems 
of the Ming Emperor Yung Lo and His Majesty 
Ch'ien Lung, about 8 feet long.^ 

Even the wash-basins, spittoons, and chamber utensils 
of the great man's house were of solid gold, or jade — 
only a few were of silver. Of small screens he had 23 of 
solid gold, and 40 of gold and lacquer; 24 large lacquer 
screens; 144 couches decorated with gold work and 
lacquer, inlaid with gems. Finally, in the treasury of this 
house alone and in the garden caches they found gold 
bars to the value of 35 million taels, besides 28,000 articles 
of jewellery, large and small. ^ 

^ This ohjet de vertu is now in the Metropolitan Museum at 
New York; it was taken from Tzu Hsi's apartments at the Summer 
Palace by an officer of the allied forces in 1900, and sold by him to an 
American connoisseur and diplomat. The Old Buddha was very 
fond of this curio, and was much distressed, on her return from exile to 
Peking in January 1902, to find that it had been looted. 

' It is interesting to observe that the valuation placed on Ho Shen's 
property under these 26 schedules — ^roughly a quarter of his estate — 
taken at the rate of exchange at that period, would suffice to pay off 
the whole Boxer indemnity. 

367 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Small wonder if the Court officials were zealous in the 
work of compiling these interesting schedules, and small 
wonder if His Majesty Chia Ch'ing placed his own brothers 
(under the watchful eyes of Grand Secretaries) to make a 
full record of such splendid plunder. Once the work of 
the Imperial looters had been done, His Majesty depre- 
cated any further references to the matter, or to the 
ultimate disposal of Ho Shen's property. Nevertheless, 
some four months after his death, a certain Lieutenant- 
General of a Banner Corps, named Sa, ventured to 
memorialise, saying that a good deal of leakage had 
occurred in compiling the official returns of the various 
properties, that there was still much treasure hidden, and 
that a good deal more had found its way, as hush money, 
into the pockets of the Imperial Commissioners who 
" tried the case." To this the Emperor replied in an 
edict, assuring the memorialist that he must be mis- 
taken (Chia Ch'ing had no intention of muzzling the ox 
that trod out such good corn). Once more the tactless 
Bannerman returned to the charge, evidently hoping 
to be well rewarded for his zeal. He declared that Ho 
Shen's treasury accounts had been in the hands of four 
female secretaries, and that a cross-examination of these 
women would bring many things to light. But Chia 
Ch'ing needed no further light on this subject. His decree 
rebuking the unfortunate Sa is interesting reading. The 
following is taken from its concluding paragraphs : 

" Yesterday We appointed Prince Ch'eng, in company 
with the memorialist, to summon the four female secre- 
taries to an investigation, so as to clear up the matter at 
once. The result is, as We expected, that they all deny 
the existence of any more treasure. Our original surmise 
as to the completely fictitious nature of Sa Pin-tu's 
information has thus been amply justified. 

" None of the Princes or Ministers have ever suggested 
in Our presence that portions of Ho Shen's hoard had 

368 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

been secreted or removed. It was left for Sa Pin-tu to 
deliver himself of these wild surmises, which clearly 
indicate his belief that We are animated by avaricious 
motives, and that We desire to accumulate vast wealth 
during Our reign. In his folly he has imagined that he 
would greatly interest and please Us with his stories about 
further hoards of treasure to be found. 

" Now be it known that the only object in confiscating 
a Minister's property is to provide a solemn warning for 
the guidance of grasping officials. There is not the 
faintest idea of Our starting a wholesale proscription, so 
as to divert other ill-gotten gains into the Imperial coffers. 
The actual amount of Ho Shen's treasure is a matter of 
supreme indifference to Us; We are concerned only to 
vindicate the principle of official honesty. Even sup- 
posing for a moment that much of Ho Shen's property 
still remains unaccounted for, and has been wrongfully 
diverted to the possession of other private persons, We 
would make the obvious retort that its hiding-place 
cannot be very distant and that, no matter who has 
acquired it, it remains accessible if need be. Its present 
owners cannot conceal it indefinitely nor spirit it away.^ 

" Why, then, should We trouble ourselves about making 
too meticulous an inventory, or permit further ramifica- 
tion of this inquiry, which would convey an impression of 
covetous extortion ? " 

So Ho Shen died, because of his great wealth, and all 
his treasure was scattered. Chia Ch'ing did his work 
thoroughly. A month after the proscription and punish- 
ment of the deceased Minister's family, when he was busy 
with the counting of the spoils, one of his brothers, Prince 
Ting,^ discovered another magnificent Court necklace of 

^ The meaning of this was plain ; it conveyed an indirect intimation 
to those concerned, that His Majesty had his suspicions concerning 
the division of the spoils and that he wanted a larger share of the 
bullion, which was forthcoming. 

2 Eldest grandson of Ch'ien Lung. 
BB 369 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

pearls of which no mention had been made in the cross- 
examination of Ho Shen. It was his favourite and par- 
ticular treasure, the apple of his eye. Whilst unable to 
conceal his delight at the find, Chia Ch'ing deals a spiteful 
final blow at Ho Shen's son, his brother-in-law, for not 
having declared the existence of this necklace. His edict 
reveals almost incredible depths of meanness, and may 
fittingly be cited as the last word in the history of Ho 
Shen : 

" After the exposure of Ho Shen's abominable crimes 
and corrupt practices, We ordered Prince Ting to make 
a further inventory of his property. Mien En now informs 
Us that he and his fellow Commissioners have discovered 
an Imperial Court necklace of pearls, which he has sub- 
mitted for Our inspection. When contemplating this 
article We are simply astounded, inasmuch as a Court 
necklace of pearls may only be worn by an Emperor, and 
no subject of the Throne is even entitled to own one. If 
it be now suggested that Ho Shen might have intended to 
present this necklace as tribute. Our reply is that in that 
case the pearls would not have been strung on dark 
yellow braid. We are thoroughly convinced that he had 
retained it for his own use. 

" We therefore bade Prince Ting institute inquiries in 
the Ho Shen household, several members of which have 
now stated that although Ho Shen never wore this neck- 
lace by daylight, he would often put it on at night, when 
no strangers were present, and would then stand before 
the mirror contemplating himself with evident satisfac- 
tion. He would assume various attitudes, smile and 
mutter to himself, and walk up and down the apartment, 
assuming the gait of His late Majesty and even imitating 
his sacred voice. His words were generally indistinct, 
but the witnesses declare that they could hear the word 
' Chen ' (the Imperial ' We '), as if, indeed, he believed 
himself to be the Emperor. 

370 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" It is, in Our opinion, perfectly plain that he enter- 
tained designs of usurping the Throne. Had these facts 
come to Our knowledge before the 18th day of the 1st 
Moon, We should assuredly have decreed Ho Shen's 
decapitation, even if We had spared him the lingering 
death and dismemberment. 

" However, he has already been permitted to commit 
suicide, and thus luckily escaped the extreme penalty of 
public execution. We do not, therefore, insist on his 
corpse being hacked to pieces. 

"As to his son, Fengshenyinte, the husband of an 
Imperial Princess, had he known of the existence of this 
necklace and had refrained from informing Us, We should 
have ordered his dismemberment as an accessory before 
the fact. But a most rigorous cross-examination has 
elicited from him naught but repeated denials of all know- 
ledge of its existence, and of Our grace We are pleased 
to order that no further investigation of the matter is 
required. Nevertheless, We cannot allow him to retain 
his hereditary rank, and We therefore deprive him of his 
ancestral earldom, merely allowing him to hold brevet 
rank as a Supernumerary Minister of the Presence. Prince 
Ting has shown much energy in the investigation of Ho 
Shen's property, and is to be referred to the Ministry 
concerned to determine a suitable reward." 



371 



CHAPTER XV 

CHIA CH'ING: THE BEGINNING OF THEiEND 

The example and results of Ho Shen's venal practices, 
and the presence at the provincial capitals of many of 
those who had studied the art of Government under his 
patronage and direction, speedily produced unmistakable 
symptoms of demoralisation throughout the public service, 
which, in its turn, resulted in widespread disaffection 
and unrest amongst the people. The mandarins who 
administered the Government under Chia Ch'ing were 
conspicuously inferior, in efficiency and moral character, 
to those who had held high offices under Ch'ien Lung. In 
China, more than in any other country in the world, 
because of the solidity of the patriarchal traditions of 
Government, the thoughts and deeds of the masses reflect 
in a high degree the moral qualities of the official class. 
The Chinese people are like the rest of humanity in that 
they cannot be made moral by Acts of Parliament, or 
wise by the inauguration of a Republic; but as regards 
the maintenance of public order and the pursuit of industry 
in preference to predatory activities, they are very greatly 
influenced by the moral qualities or defects of those placed 
in authority over them. If Chia Ch'ing had been a man 
of the same stamp as his father; had he pursued and 
despoiled Ho Shen and other offenders from a sense of 
duty and for the purification of the State, the public 
service would, no doubt, have recovered from the poison 
of corruption and gross living with which Ch'ien Lung, in 

372 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

his old age, had allowed Ho Shen to infect it. But, except 
in matters of personal revenge and covetous greed, 
Chia Ch'ing displayed neither initiative nor intelligence. 
Grasping, suspicious and thoroughly insincere, he lacked 
the quality of firmness and the sense of justice requisite 
to make a successful ruler of China; and his officials 
faithfully reflected their Sovereign's methods in their 
administration of the provinces. As a result, the spirit 
of rebellion, ever latent in the struggling mass of China's 
congested population, which manifested itself at the 
beginning of his reign, continued to grow and spread, until 
it became a chronic ailment of the body politic and an 
unmistakable indication of the approaching end of the 
Manchu power. Officials, civil and military, whom Ch'ien 
Lung would have recalled and executed for their failure 
to suppress local risings, were allowed by Chia Ch'ing to 
sow fresh seeds of disaffection, by wholesale and indis- 
criminating proscriptions of the wealthy, wherever an 
insurrection afforded them some pretext for filling their 
own pockets. And Chia Ch'ing shared this plunder, whilst 
bemoaning the evil destinies of his country in platitudinous 
decrees. 

The insurrection of the White Lily society resulted 
in the devastation of four provinces before the new Em- 
peror, after eight years of anxious struggle, felt himself 
secure upon the Throne. It eventually subsided in 1807, 
after wholesale extermination in suspected districts; but 
in 1812 an attempt was made upon the life of the Emperor 
at Peking, which revealed the existence of another wide- 
spread anti-Manchu organisation, and prepared the 
Government for the serious outbreak which the " Heavenly 
Reason " secret society was already planning in Honan. 

The would-be assassin was a Manchu, named Ch'eng 
Te, employed as cook to the Imperial Household. Waiting 
for the Emperor on his way to the Summer Palace, he 
suddenly rushed towards the palanquin, sword in hand. 

373 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

The bearers, seeing him, dropped the sedan and fled, the 
bodyguard seemed paralysed with fear, and the terrified 
Monarch collapsed in a fainting condition. He would 
undoubtedly have been slain had it not been for an officer 
of the guard, who galloped to his side just in time to over- 
power his assailant. 

Chia Ch'ing, suspecting that the assassin had been 
hired by kinsmen of the late Grand Secretary, Ho Shen, 
had him examined with every refinement of lingering 
torture, but could extract nothing from him to prove the 
existence of an organised plot. All the man would say 
was : "If my plans had succeeded none of you would be 
where you are now." He was finally put to death by the 
slow slicing process, after his two sons had been beheaded 
before his eyes. 

The annals of the dynasty contain no explanation of 
this attempt on the life of the Emperor; nevertheless, 
there is evidence to show that Ch'eng Te was one of a 
band of conspirators who, in the following year, made a 
determined attempt to seize the Palace and to overthrow 
the dynasty. The facts were made known to the Governor 
of Shantung, through a report forwarded to him by the 
District Magistrate of that province, who had arrested 
one of the leaders of the conspiracy, and elicited from him 
the information that the man Ch'eng Te had been a 
member of his band. The Governor thought it best to 
preserve a discreet silence on this matter, lest Chia Ch'ing 
should punish him for not having discovered and nipped 
the conspiracy in the bud. It was undoubtedly organised 
by some of Ho Shen's faction, acting in concert with the 
anti-dynastic societies in the provinces. 

It was on the 15th day of the 9th Moon in the year 1813 
that a considerable force of armed men suddenly forced 
their way into the Palace, and for a time actually held 
its gates. Their plans for gaining access to the Forbidden 
City were well laid, but, as usually happens with Chinese 

374 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

risings, they had no capable leader, and once inside the 
Imperial precincts there was no definite plan of concerted 
attack. Chia Ch'ing was absent at the time, on his way 
to perform sacrifice at his father's tomb. His subsequent 
decree on the subject states the main facts accurately 
enough, as follows : 

" Without warning, at noon of the 15th day of the 9th 
Moon, a band of rebels dared to enter the Palace by the 
Gate of Azure Thunder, where they were successfully 
stopped by eunuchs. An hour later another party 
climbed over the inner wall of the Forbidden City and 
entered the Palace, where my son. Mien Ning,i was at his 
studies. Seeing that the situation was dangerous the 
Prince picked up a fowling-piece and drew his sword. He 
picked off the rebel leader, who, with a white flag in his 
hand, was directing operations. My son pleads guilty 
to rash presumption in having fired, but adds that the 
situation was desperate. He acted with true courage 
and commonsense, most remarkable in a young Prince 
still engaged in his studies.^ No sooner had the alarm 
been given than he rushed out and killed two more rebels, 
and by his prompt action caused the band to scatter in 
alarm. In spite of this, my son apologises for his pre- 
sumption in words which display admirable good taste 
and modesty. I can hardly guide my pencil as I write, 
for my eyes are blurred with tears, so deep is the gratifica- 
tion which I feel at his conduct. The sacred enclosure 
of the Forbidden City contains the spirit tablets of my 
ancestors and of my late father, and the Empress Consort 
is living there now. My son has bravely defended its 
sanctity and has acquitted himself with rare loyalty and 
filial duty. I confer upon him the title of Prince of the 

^ Who subsequently reigned as the Emperor Tao Kuang. 

2 The Prince was then thirty-one years of age. Chia Ch'ing kept him 
and his brothers in tutelage much longer than was usual, warned by the 
example of K'ang Hsi's rebellious family. Though married at the age 
of fourteen, he did not set up an independent establishment till 1816. 

375 



A 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

First Order, with the title of ' Wise,' and double his 
emoluments, raising them to T. 12,000 per annum. My 
third son, Mien K'ai, deserves praise also for the help he 
rendered. If my Ministers display merit I reward them 
as a matter of course. Naturally, therefore, if my own 
sons display courage and loyalty, I can hardly refrain from 
suitably recognising their deserts. This is only common 
fairness, and I trust that my Ministers will realise this 
and be inspired to equal bravery. 

" A further memorial from my brother. Prince Yi, and 
others reports that the attack was suppressed by 3 p.m., 
the number of rebels taken alive being altogether two 
hundred. I would observe, however, that the list of their 
names only mentions thirty-one persons, and I should 
be glad to know what has become of the other hundred 
and sixty-nine. This memorial is sadly lacking in 
lucidity. 

" My brother. Prince Ch'eng, after cross-examining 
several rebels, learns that there is still a band of some five 
hundred of them outside the Imperial City, but he does 
not state whether these took any part in the disturbances 
or how their presence came to be revealed. I desire 
information on this matter. On the occasion of so sudden 
an irruption of desperadoes, who have dared to enter the 
sacred precincts and lurk in the Imperial kitchen, the 
Princes and Ministers have shown remarkable courage. 
Those who made arrests in the inner enclosure of the 
Palace deserve the highest praise; next in merit are the 
defenders of the outer precincts. In the bestowal of 
rewards and honours those who were slain in repelling 
the attack are to be included under the first class; the 
severely wounded under the second class, and those 
slightly wounded under the third class. All names must 
be given irrespective of rank, and no favouritism shown. 
Upon my arrival, my second son is to meet me inside the 
gate of the Palace, and to prostrate himself in obeisance 

376 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

for the honour I have bestowed upon him. He is excused 
from awaiting the cortege outside the city." 

Chia Ch'ing countermanded his visit to the tombs and 
hurried back to Peking. In the course of a characteristic 
penitential decree he made the following remarks on the 
causes of national demoralisation : 

" My dynasty has now ruled over this Empire for one 
hundred and seventy years ; my glorious predecessors have, 
each in his turn, displayed a bountiful affection for their 
subjects, treating them ever as beloved children. No pen 
can describe their sage virtue and justice. Although I may 
have failed in reaching their standard of perfection I have 
not been a cruel or grasping ruler. This sudden disaster is 
quite inexplicable to me ; it is, I suppose, a proof of my 
own scanty merit and a punishment for my many offences. 
The revolution broke out suddenly, but it must have been 
long in preparation. The besetting sin amongst my 
officials may be summed up in two words : ' Incurable 
procrastination.' I keep warning you all till my lips are 
sore and my tongue is dry, but you take no notice, and 
continue to govern in the old casual way. Because of 
this a calamity has befallen us, unparalleled under this 
or any other dynasty, infinitely worse than the episode 
which occurred under the Mings, when a man armed with 
a cudgel made an attempt on the life of the Heir Apparent 
of Wan Li.^ I cannot bear to speak of this thing any 
more. All I can do is to repent me of my errors and to 
purify my heart, in order, on the one hand, to show my 
gratitude to high Heaven and, on the other, to lessen my 
subjects' disaffection towards their ruler. 

" If you, my officials, desire truly and loyally to serve 
my great Manchu dynasty, then must you become as 
little children and toil zealously for the State, in order to 
redeem my errors and to reform the habits of the people. 
If, however, it please you better to remain sunken in 

^ Vide supra, p. 48. 
377 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

degeneracy, then you had better hang up your official 
hats and seek refuge in retirement for the remainder of this 
existence. Cease from placidly accepting the emoluments 
and sweets of office, like the mourner who takes the place 
of the corpse and presides at the funeral feast, in dignified 
nonchalance, for thus you will only enhance your Emperor's 
guilt. I have written so far, but tears gush forth and 
blot the paper. Let this be made known everywhere." 

The name of the leading conspirator was Lin Ch'ing, 
whose influence over his numerous adherents of the 
Heavenly Principles Society seems to have been (like 
that of the Boxer leaders in 1900) largely mystical and 
religious. His avowed aim was the foundation of a new 
dynasty, with himself as the Heaven-sent ruler of China. 
Preparations were being made for a general rising on the 
15th day of the intercalary 8th Moon,^ but the plot was 
discovered, in April 1812, by the Manchu Prefect at Tamsui 
in Formosa, who happened to arrest one of its moving 
spirits, engaged there in spreading anti-dynastic sedition. 
This man disclosed the aims of the secret society, and named 
Lin Ch'ing as its leader. The Prefect informed the 
Governor of the conspiracy, but the Governor took no 
steps to warn Peking, for fear of getting into trouble 
himself. • 

On the day before the attack on the Palace, a Police 
Inspector at Lu K'ou-ch'iao, six miles south-west of 
Peking, sent an urgent message to the Governor of the 
city informing him that Lin Ch'ing had given orders to his 
men to enter the capital next morning. Again, the 
Governor, fearing to be the bearer of alarmist news, took 
no action in the matter. 

As the result of the investigation held and the evidence 
of the prisoners, it transpired that several of the Palace 
eunuchs had taken part in the conspiracy. Chia Ch'ing's 

^ Intercalary 8th Moons seem to be especially selected by the 
astrologers of secret societies for the outbreak of rebellions. 

378 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

decree on the subject is interesting, inasmuch as it reveals 
the increasing demorahsation of the Imperial Household. 
It reads as follows : 

" Before the attack on the Palace certain seditious 
characters had been arrested in Shantung and Honan 
on charges of murdering officials. They confessed under 
examination that they belonged to the Heavenly Prin- 
ciples Society, and that their leader, Lin, was hiding in 
Peking. I was about to give orders for his arrest, when 
the Forbidden City was invaded by armed rebels, all of 
whom have been captured. It was learned that their 
leader, the aforesaid Lin Ch'ing, was in hiding at a village 
near Peking, and his capture was effected. He admits 
that he was the originator and organiser of the con- 
spiracy. He propagated treasonable doctrines and 
planned to have me assassinated; his guilt is heinous in 
the extreme. I am deeply grateful to the protection of 
Heaven and of my ancestors for frustrating his designs, 
and command that he be punished with the utmost rigour 
of the law. I am greatly astounded to learn that several 
eunuchs, Lin Te-ts'ai and others, belonged to this heretic 
sect. That minions in the service of the Palace should 
dare to join a society so pernicious and abet its treasonable 
designs by opening the Palace gates to the rebels, reveals 
an unprecedented degree of guilt. The eunuchs under 
arrest must be examined separately under torture, and 
the whole truth extracted, without evasions or false 
witness. These guilty eunuchs must all be sentenced to 
dismemberment, of course, and their families will share 
their fate. The eunuch ringleader, Lin Te-ts'ai, is to be 
held until my return to the Palace, when I shall examine 
him myself, together with his chief accomplice. When 
I have rigorously cross-examined them, they will be duly 
punished by the lingering death." 

On the following morning Chia Ch'ing re-entered 
Peking, taking the opportunity of exhibiting himself to 

379 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

the people by riding on horseback instead of being borne 
in the Imperial palanquin. He immediately set himself 
to the congenial task of examining the culprits under 
torture. The names of other ringleaders were revealed 
and the objects of the society, which was frankly anti- 
Manchu, disclosed. It was originally called the Eight 
Diagrams Sect, and had a great number of adherents in 
the northern provinces. In some respects its methods 
and ritual resembled those of the Boxers of 1900. 

After ordering the dismemberment of the leading 
criminals, the Emperor recorded his further views on the 
eunuch question, as follows : 

" I have personally examined the guilty eunuchs, who 
assure me that they had no accomplices in their crimes. 
There are seven of them in all. There are several grades 
of eunuchs; all those in attendance on my person are 
extremely well behaved. These who are now under 
sentence have only been employed about the Palace in 
the humblest duties and have never had access to my 
presence. Their names are unknown to me and they have 
never formed part of my suite at the Summer Palace. 
Nevertheless, the Chief Eunuchs are greatly to blame for 
not exercising a more vigilant control. When I asked 
the culprits why they had plotted treason, all hung their 
heads and were silent. Then I asked whether I had ever 
ill-treated them, to which they replied : ' Your divine 
bounty is limitless, how could we harbour any ill-feelings 
against you ? ' They kept on saying : ' Lord Buddha,' 
(meaning me), ' save us.' It is, indeed, sad that they 
should have allowed themselves to be corrupted by evil 
influences outside the Palace. In future no eunuchs 
are to be allowed outside except for a limited number of 
hours, and in no case except in groups of three or four. 
By this means I hope to prevent subterranean intrigue 
and visits to the residences of officials. I am glad to think 
that the guilt of these owl-like monsters is confined to a 

380 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

very few. The other eunuchs ought to be grateful for 
their master's bounty and refrain from harbouring un- 
worthy fears and suspicions. I shall never punish the 
innocent. Let this decree be inserted in my Palace 
annals. 

" The 6th day of next Moon is the anniversary of my 
birth, but I have lost face by recent events and have now 
no heart to receive congratulations. Rebellions are 
raging and seditious sects flourish; what heart could I 
have for revelry? It would be the shadow without the 
substance. It has been your custom to present me with 
jade sceptres of good luck, which I have invariably 
returned to the donors. The recent conspiracy certainly 
does not denote ' good luck,' and I beg that my officials 
will offer me no more such ' luck ' tokens. I grieve to 
think that you still desire to celebrate my birthday, but 
feel that I must sanction your request. In the mean- 
while, I hope that each of you will commune with his 
heart in the night watches, asking himself what manner 
of man he desires to become, and what ambitions he 
cherishes. Do not jeopardise your careers ! I have lost 
face by these events and am aweary of these perpetual 
admonitions." 

[There is evidence in contemporary writings that 
the Court was equally weary, and that Chia Ch'ing 
had by this time written himself down as a complete 
failure.] 

The demoralisation of the Court and the Emperor's 
lack of statesmanship were signally demonstrated in 
connection with the special embassy, under Lord Amherst, 
sent by Great Britain in the summer of 1816, for the 
purpose of arranging at Peking for improved trade 
relations and facilities at Canton, where serious differences 
had arisen between the East India Company's agents and 
the Chinese authorities. The history of that mission, 
and the reasons which led to its failure, have been fully 

381 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

described in Ellis's Journal (London, 1817) and other 
works. Suffice it to say that the breadth of vision which 
led Ch'ien Lung to dispense with the ceremony of the 
kotow in the case of Lord Macartney's Embassy was 
lacking in his ignorant and arrogant successor. China's 
military strength had greatly deteriorated in the twenty 
years that had elapsed since Lord Macartney's day, but 
the self-sufficient conceit of her ruling class had increased 
with their corruption and inefficiency. The truth of this 
statement is sufficiently revealed by Chia Ch'ing's edicts 
in regard to Lord Amherst's mission. 

In the 7th Moon (end of August) 1816, the official 
Chinese point of view was thus recorded in an Imperial 
decree : 

" Imperial mandate to the King of England : Whereas 
your country, though lying far beyond the wide seas, 
was sincerely desirous of attaining the blessings of civilisa- 
tion, in the fifty-eighth year of Ch'ien Lung, when my 
sainted father was on the Throne, you sent a special 
mission to pay homage. At that time your Ambassador 
performed the ceremony required of him with the greatest 
respect and committed no breach of decorum or etiquette.^ 
It was his high privilege, therefore, reverently to receive 
the gracious kindness of His late Majesty. He was ad- 
mitted into his presence and was given a banquet and 
many presents. 

" You have now sent another mission bearing a memorial 
and offerings of your produce. Your respectful homage 
has met with my appreciation, and I was glad of the coming 
of your mission. I examined into the details of the cere- 
monial adopted on the previous occasion, and bade my 
Court arrange for your Envoy's reception by myself, 

^ This is a deliberate perversion of the facts. The ceremony of the 
kotow was definitely waived by Ch'ien Lung after repeated, but futile, 
attempts on the part of his Ministers to induce Lord Macartney to 
perform it. 

382 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

and to provide a banquet and presents, in exact accordance 
with the ceremonial prescribed by His late Majesty. On 
the mission's arrival at Tientsin, I ordered that a banquet 
should be given there in my name. To my great surprise 
your Ambassador, on returning thanks, failed to conform 
with the prescribed etiquette. Nevertheless, I bore in 
mind that a lowly official of a distant nation could hardly 
be expected to show familiarity with our ceremonial 
usage, and I was pleased to pardon his remissness. 

*' I commanded my officials to inform your Envoy, on 
his approaching the metropolis, that his predecessor, your 
former Ambassador, in the fifty-eighth year of Ch'ien 
Lung, did duly perform the whole prescribed ceremony, 
including the genuflexion and kotow. How, then, could 
any deviation from this course be permitted on the present 
occasion ? Your Envoy replied to my Minister that he 
would certainly perform both genuflexion and kotow at 
the time of his audience, and promised that there should 
be no violation of etiquette.^ My Ministers duly informed 
me, whereupon I issued a decree commanding your 
Ambassador to attend for audience on the 7th day of the 
7th Moon. On the 8th day I arranged for a banquet in 
the Hall of Perfect Rectitude and Enlightenment, when 
the bestowal of presents was to take place, after which he 
was to be regaled with a further entertainment in the 
Garden of Universal Joy. On the day following, the 9th, 
he was to be received in farewell audience and to be taken 
over the grounds of the Summer Palace. On the 11th 
he was to proceed to the gate of the Main Hall of the 
Forbidden City, there to receive my mandate and gifts 
for presentation to yourself, after which he was to be 
entertained at a banquet by my Board of Ceremonies. 

^ Vide Ellis's Journal, p. 172. On the 27th of August a note was 
addressed to Chia Ch'ing's Ministers, stating Lord Amherst's final and 
irrevocable determination not to perform the kotow, a determination 
in accordance with all his previous declarations. 

383 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

On the 13th he was to be ordered to take his 
departure. 

" My Minister informed your Ambassador of the dates 
and details of the above programme. On the 7th, the 
date fixed for audience, the mission had reached my Palace 
gate, and I was about to take my seat on the Imperial 
Throne, when your Chief Ambassador suddenly announced 
that he had been attacked by a sudden illness and was 
unable to move. Admitting that this might possibly be 
the case, I merely commanded the presence of the two 
subordinate Envoys, but they also simultaneously excused 
themselves on the plea of sickness. Such gross discourtesy 
is utterly unprecedented; nevertheless, I administered no 
severe reproof, but confined myself to ordering their 
immediate departure from Peking. As the mission was 
not received in audience, your memorial, strictly speaking, 
should not have been presented, but I remembered that 
your country is afar off, and that the feelings were praise- 
worthy which led you to memorialise Us and send tribute. 
Your Envoys are alone to blame for their gross breach of 
respect ; I fully recognise the spirit of reverent submission 
which animated you. I have consequently accepted the 
whole of your tribute, including maps, pictures, and 
portraits, and I duly acknowledge your devotion. More- 
over, in my turn, 1 confer upon you a white jade and a 
green jade sceptre, a Court necklace, two pairs of large 
pouches to be worn at the girdle and eight small ones, 
that my bounty may be made manifest. 

" You live at such a great distance from the Middle 
Kingdom that these Embassies must cause you consider- 
able inconvenience. Your Envoys, moreover, are wholly 
ignorant of Chinese ceremonial procedure, and the bicker- 
ing which follows their arrival is highly displeasing to my 
ear. My dynasty attaches no value to products from 
abroad; your nation's cunningly wrought and strange 

384 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

wares do not appeal to me in the least, nor do they interest 
me. For the future, O King, if you will keep your 
subjects in order and strengthen your national defences, 
I shall hold you in high esteem, notwithstanding your 
remoteness. Henceforward, pray do not trouble to 
dispatch missions all this distance ; they are merely a 
waste of time and have their journey for nothing. If 
you loyally accept our sovereignty and show dutiful 
submission, there is really no need for these yearly 
appearances at our Court to prove that you are indeed our 
vassal. We issue this mandate to the end that you may 
perpetually comply therewith." 

England in 1816 was busy with matters weightier even 
than the indignities offered to Lord Amherst's Embassy 
and the grievances of the East India Company at Canton, 
but China lost nothing by waiting for the day of reckoning 
which the arrogance and bad faith of the mandarins had 
now rendered inevitable. It was clear that the dignity 
of Great Britain could not tolerate indefinitely the ignorant 
presumption of the Chinese, nor the ill-treatment of British 
subjects at their hands. With the abolition of the East 
India Company's charter, seventeen years after Lord 
Amherst's ignominious dismissal from Peking, Lord Napier 
appeared at the gates of Canton; on that day began the 
long and painful process of disillusion, which, through 
bloodshed and humiliation, was to convince the rulers of 
China that their attitude of complacent superiority and 
over-lordship of the world was untenable. 

If the Emperor Chia Ch'ing's decrees on the subject of 
the Amherst Mission are compared with the British records 
of what actually occurred at Peking, the fact stands out 
clearly that both the Emperor and the British Envoy 
were deliberately hoodwinked and misled by the Chinese 
and Manchu officials deputed to arrange with Lord 
Amherst the details of the presentation ceremony. The 
cc 385 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

purblind mandarins, who had advised the Throne to insist 
on the performance of the kotow, were afraid to " lose 
face " by having to confess that they were unable to 
persuade the British Envoy to accept it ; ^ they therefore 
lied to the Emperor about the Mission's attitude, and to 
the Mission about the Emperor's, until at the last, in 
order to extricate themselves, they were compelled to get 
rid of the foreigners at all costs. This they did by making 
it appear that the Envoy had been disrespectful to His 
Majesty, and by taking steps that the Mission should be 
illtreated and insulted. 

Notwithstanding the wording of his mandate to the 
King of England, Chia Ch'ing felt that he had been griev- 
ously ill-used, and that by the departure of the Mission he 
had lost much face. He proceeded, therefore, as usual, to 
scold his Ministers, in the following querulous decree : 

" On the occasion of the tribute Mission from England 
landing at the port of Tientsin, I commanded Su-leng-e 
and Kuang Hui to give a banquet in my name and to 
compel the members of the Mission to return thanks for 
the same by the three genuliexions and the nine prostra- 
tions. If these obeisances were duly performed the 
Mission was to be conducted to Peking, but in the event 
of any failure to observe the proper ceremonial, or if it 
were clumsily rehearsed, the officials above named were 
to memorialise and await my further commands. The 
Embassy's ships were not to be permitted to leave, so 
that they might be available to take the Mission back by 
the way it had come. 

" My orders have been wilfully disregarded. The 
Mission has been allowed to come up to Peking, and the 
ships have taken their departure without leave from me. 

^ Vide Ellis^s Journal, p. 173. It is interesting at this date to recall 
the fact that had it not been for the presence and firmness of Sir 
George Staunton, who had been a member of Lord Macartney's suite 
at Jehol, Lord Amherst would have yielded to the Chinese and kotowed. 

386 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Herein lies a gross dereliction of duty on the part of these 
two officials. 

" Furthermore, I commanded Ho Shih-t'ai and Muk- 
denga to proceed to T'ungchou, where they were to direct 
the Mission to rehearse the ceremony. For this I gave 
them till the 6th day of the 7th Moon, by which time, if 
the Mission had acquired proficiency in the requisite 
etiquette, they were to be brought on to the capital; if 
not, the tribute Mission was to be denounced and my 
decision requested forthwith. On the 5th instant I 
received a vaguely worded memorial from Ho Shih-t'ai 
and his colleagues, and on the 6th the Mission was escorted 
into Peking. At 1.30 p.m. on that day I took my seat 
on the Throne in the Hall of Diligent Government and 
summoned Ho Shih-t'ai and Mukdenga to an audience. 
First I inquired as to the rehearsal of the ceremony at 
T'ungchou. Hereupon the two officials removed their 
hats and with repeated kotows confessed that no rehearsal 
had taken place at all ! I asked them why, this being the 
case, they had not carried out my instructions and 
denounced the Mission to the Throne. Ho Shih-t'ai 
answered : ^ ' When the audience takes place to-morrow 
I will guarantee that the ceremonial will be performed in 
full.' For this blundering they are responsible, and just 
as much to blame as the first two officials. On the morning 
of the 7th I partook of breakfast, and at 6.30 a.m. issued 
a decree saying I was about to proceed to the Throne 
Hall, where I would receive the Mission in audience. To 
this Ho Shih-t'ai at first replied : * The Mission is delayed 
on the road ; so soon as it reaches the Palace gates I will 
inform Your Majesty.' In a little while he reported 
further, saying : ' The Chief Ambassador has had a severe 
gastric attack; it will be necessary to postpone the 

^ On the same day, Kuang Hui reassured Lord Amherst saying that 
" the affair was settled, and he might be perfectly easy. The ceremony 
would not be mentioned again." 

387 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

audience, giving him time to recover.' At last he reported : 
' The Ambassador is too sick to appear at audience at all.' 

" I directed that the Ambassador be taken back to his 
lodging, and supplied at once with medical aid, after which 
I desired the immediate attendance of the Deputy Am- 
bassador. To this Ho Shih-t'ai replied that the Deputy 
Ambassador had also been attacked by sickness, and 
that both would attend together on the Chief Ambassador's 
recovery. 

" China is lord and sovereign of the world ; was it 
possible for Us to submit calmly to such a wanton display 
of irreverent arrogance? Therefore I issued a decree, 
commanding the expulsion of the Mission from China. 
Nevertheless, I inflicted no punishment upon the Am- 
bassadors ; I bade Kuang Hui escort them back to Canton 
and see to it that they set sail from there. It has only 
now been reported to me by the Grand Council that the 
Mission had had an all night's journey from T'ungchou to 
the ante-chamber of the Imperial Palace at Yiian Ming- 
yiian, and that the Ambassador, whose Court dress had 
not arrived, had strongly protested at the idea of appearing 
before His Imperial Majesty the Emperor in travelling 
clothes. Why did Ho Shih-t'ai not inform me of these 
facts? If it was because he overlooked them at the 
moment, he could easily have asked for another audience 
that evening or the next day. He did nothing of the 
sort, and allowed me to remain in ignorance until I 
was proceeding to take my seat on the Imperial Throne. 
The guilt of Ho Shih-t'ai and his colleague greatly 
exceeds the errors of the other two. Had they informed 
me of the true state of the case I should have post- 
poned the ceremony to a later date. I am astounded at 
the way in which my stupid officials have mismanaged 
this business, and I feel that I have completely lost ' face ' 
in the eyes of my Court. All I can do is frankly to 
acknowledge my mistakes. 

388 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" I shall deal with the four officials' punishment ^ after 
the Board of Civil Office has recommended an appropriate 
penalty. In the meantime, I record the facts for the 
information of my officials throughout the Empire and the 
Mongol Princes." 

It was months before Chia Ch'ing recovered from this 
loss of face. 

^ One was deprived of his post of Board President; another was 
reduced from the rank of Comptroller-General of the Household to 
that of an official writer of the eighth rank. The other two, highly- 
placed Manchus both, were cashiered. 



889 



CHAPTER XVI 

TAO KUANG. THE IMPACT OF THE WEST 

When Chia Ch'ing died, struck by lightning, in 1821, 
he left to his son, Tao Kuang, an Empire from which the 
glory of his father's reign had departed. No more vic- 
torious armies would march, under Manchu leaders, to 
wars of conquest in Central Asia. For the future, China 
was to be harassed by rebellions within and by attacks 
from without, but the Manchu' s power of ruling the 
country was steadily waning. The canker worm of 
effeminacy had already eaten deep into the heart of the 
Manchu military organisation; its garrisons in the pro- 
vinces were fast losing the virility of Nurhachi's days and 
with it the respect of the Chinese. In the public service, 
as we have shown, corruption and cowardice were rapidly 
doing their work of demoralisation : and all the while, 
new forces and new foes were preparing to destroy the 
splendid self-sufficiency of the Middle Kingdom. Until 
now, China had settled her affairs, and paid the price of 
her rulers' sins, within her own borders : if she had had 
invaders and suffered the domination of aliens, at least 
they had been Asiatics, and the sons of Han had even- 
tually conquered the conqueror by the moral force of 
their superior civilisation. But now, new conquerors 
were advancing who, in addition to material strength of 
a kind undreamt of in China's star-gazing philosophy, 
were to dispute even the moral superiority of the Canons 

390 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

of the Sages, and finally to take from China her great 
inheritance, her contempt for the outer barbarians, her 
false pride and pinchbeck supremacy, fast set in its 
massive frame of complacent ignorance. 

When Tao Kuang came to the Throne, in his thirty- 
ninth year, it seemed at first as if he might fulfil the 
promise of courage and decision which he had given at 
the time of the rebel attack on the Palace in 1813. As a 
youth, he had shown energy and much fondness for sports ; 
it was recorded in the Palace annals that in the year 1790, 
being then a boy of nine,^ he accompanied his grandfather 
Ch'ien Lung on a hunting trip to Jehol and so delighted 
the Emperor with his skill at an archery competition that 
the aged monarch presented him with a Yellow Jacket 
and allowed him to wear it. But the process of degenera- 
tion, at Peking and in the provinces, had gone too far 
to be checked by the single-handed efforts of any Sovereign, 
and the men about Tao Kuang' s Throne were remarkable 
neither for virtue nor for statesmanship. He reigned, 
tant hien que mal, for thirty years, but after the first ten, 
he displayed little energy in State affairs, gradually 
relegating them to his two principal advisers, the Manchu 
Grand Secretary Mu Ch'ang-a and the Imperial Tutor, 
Tu Shou-t'ien. At the close of his reign, when the pride 
of the Dragon Throne had been humbled by the British 
barbarians at Canton and Nanking ; when the widespread 
elements of unrest and discontent were about to blaze 
out into the great Taiping rebellion (from which the 
Manchu power would never have emerged had not the 
" barbarians " upheld it) ; when the Empire was visibly 
tottering to its ruin — Tao Kuang's mind was chiefly 
concerned with two matters, first : how to keep down the 
" squeezes " of the eunuchs in his Imperial Household 
accounts; secondly, how to prevent the Censorate from 

^ By the Chinese reckoning of age, which makes a child a year old 
at birth. Tao Kuang was born in 1782. 

391 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

wearying him with their long-winded and futile denuncia- 
tions of abuses which he was powerless to check. 

It was Tu, the Imperial Tutor, who devised the method 
/ y for muzzling the Censor ate which Tao Kuang adopted, 

I with results satisfactory to his own comfort but injurious 

(nyt^'JA 'f^'' to the State. The Emperor had asked him to suggest a 

^v^ way of punishing a certain Censor who persisted in pvo- 

jit^U^^ pounding questions displeasing to His Majesty. Tu 
r^^*^ replied : " That is not a difficult matter. Whatever the 
^subject of the memorial may be, let Your Majesty issue 
a decree finding fault with some particular mode of 
expression or error in its wording, and order that the 
writer be handed over to the Civil Office for the deter- 
mination of a penalty. The Censorate will realise that 
if Your Majesty is not prepared to overlook triffing errors 
in composition and caligraphy, your displeasure is likely 
to be seriously visited on those memorialists who venture 
to deal with high questions of State ! Nobody will be able 
to suggest that Your Majesty is opposed to criticism, 
but in future criticism will automatically cease." 

Tao Kuang was pleased to follow this advice, and in a 
little while the Censorate ceased to urge its views upon 
the Emperor. This suited his chief advisers, who were 
able to handle affairs in their own way and without daily 
denunciations. The Emperor never suspected that the 
advice was given with this motive, being himself of a 
trusting and straightforward disposition. When Tu died, 
Tao Kuang lavished posthumous honours upon him, 
frankly confessing that his advice had become more or 
less indispensable. It was Tu who also set the fashion 
of " ploughing " literary degree candidates for blemishes 
in caligraphy, irrespective of the merits of their composi- 
tions. In this way he degraded the standard of learning 
and scholarship and with it the general standard of 
intelligence and efficiency in the public service. 

As illustrating the tone of the public service towards 

392 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the end of this well-meaning but unfortunate monarch's 
reign, the following verses, sent by an anonymous wit to 
the Grand Secretary Ts'ao Chen-yung are interesting : 

" If you wish to intrigue successfully and to rise in the 
world, make you friends at Court, by occasional gifts of 
money ; 

" If you would be reckoned a hero, avoid all reference to 
vexed questions, be noncommittal and invariably humble ; 

" The key to success in a high official is to take things 
easily, neither asserting merit nor protesting loyalty; 

" In all your duties be plausibly evasive ; never criticise 
adversely and never condemn; 

" Just as in the country a peaceful district enjoys good 
harvests, even so, an absence of friction conduces to 
official advancement; 

" In dealing with your colleagues, be yielding and 
soft-spoken; cover up their defects, but avoid praising 
their virtues; 

" By so doing you may comfortably rise to be a Grand 
Secretary : your wife will receive a patent of honour and 
your son a sinecure ; 

*' You will leave behind you a fragrant memory im- 
perishable ; and if you are not canonised as ' Learned 
and Loyal,' you will at least go down to history as 
' Learned and Polite.' " 

It was the same Grand Secretary Ts'ao who, when 
asked to advise an aspirant to office on the best means 
of securing preferment, cynically replied : " It is really 
quite simple; just go on kotowing, and never commit 
yourself to any final opinion on any subject." Ts'ao 
indulged in cynicism because, though he could no nothing 
to stem the tide of decadence, he himself was honest and 
patriotic, as the times went. His family made a large 
fortune from the salt trade of Anhui, much of which 
escaped payment of the Government's dues; but when 
the Viceroy of Nanking, hard put to it for funds, required 

393 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

to subdue the rebellion, drew his attention to these leakages 
he replied : " Institute your reforms, by all means, and 
pay no heed to my family's means of livelihood. I have 
never heard of a Grand Secretary dying of starvation." 

If the annals speak truly, Tao Kuang's most marked 
characteristic was his housewifely thrift, which in his old 
age verged on parsimony. Although, like most of his 
house, he was fond of the pleasures of the table, the best 
dinner was unpalatable to him if he thought that he was 
paying too much for it. He had all the frugality and 
fussiness which subsequently distinguished the Empress 
Dowager, Tzu Hsi, but without her genial bonhomie. 
He gradually cut down his domestic expenditure in the 
Palace to about 200,000 taels (say £60,000) a year, so 
that the Secretaries, Chamberlains and eunuchs of the 
household were hard put to it to make a bare living. 
Some of their manoeuvres were as determined as the 
Sovereign's stinginess. It is recorded that on one occasion 
His Majesty desired to have some macaroni soup, made 
in a special way, and gave orders accordingly. Next day 
the household humbly reported that it would be necessary 
to build a special kitchen for the preparation of this dish 
and to place an official in charge of it. For this they 
submitted estimates amounting to over 600,000 taels, 
as well as a yearly expenditure of 15,000 taels. The 
Emperor frowned : " Never mind about it : I know a 
good eating-house, outside the Ch'ien Men, where they 
make this soup excellently, you can buy it for forty 
cash a bowl. I shall send a eunuch every day to buy 
some there." 

A few days later the Minister of the household came 
again and reported that this particular eating-house had 
closed its doors. The Emperor sighed : " I have always 
refused to waste a cash on my food," he said, " but it 
does seem hard that I, the Son of Heaven, cannot be 
allowed to procure any little delicacy I want." 

394 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Tao Kuang was not destined, as was his son, to see 
his capital invaded and his Palace burned by the outer 
barbarians; but his father's fatuous arrogance, and his 
own incapacity to realise the seriousness of the new 
dangers that threatened his Empire, cost him and his 
advisers a first heavy instalment of humiliation by 
loss of territory and of " face." The events which led 
up to the Treaty of Nanking and the cession of Hongkong 
to Great Britain do not come within the scope of the 
present work. It may be observed, however, now that 
the opium question in China has become a question of 
religious and sentimental polemics in England, that the 
action taken by the Viceroy Lin at Canton in destroying 
the British merchants' opium was due, not to moral 
considerations, but to his uncompromising contempt for 
the foreigner and all his works. Our first war with China 
has been persistently described as an " opium war " by 
persons vocationally identified with opium abolition as a 
prominent plank in the missionary platform ; nevertheless, 
the fact remains, clearly demonstrable to all who are 
not carried away by their prejudices, that neither the 
Peking Government nor the Viceroy at Canton regarded 
the opium question from any point of view other than 
the political, fiscal and economic. One party at Peking, 
under Mu Ch'ang-a, was in favour of legalising the drug 
(as Sir H. Pottinger advised) just as it was in favour of 
granting many other reasonable trade facilities to the 
foreigner. The other party, the irreconcilable conser- 
vatives and chauvinists, were all for excluding it, on 
precisely the same grounds as they opposed the opening 
of new ports to trade. Lin Tse-hsii, the Viceroy of 
Canton, was the real cause of the war, because his attitude 
of contemptuous insolence and his methods of barbarism 
were not such as any self-respecting nation could tolerate. 
The following extract from a letter addressed directly 
to Queen Victoria by this stiff-necked patriot of the 

395 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

old school, contains, in a few lines, the whole pitiful 
tragedy of China's collapse before the impact of the 
West. 

" You savages of the further seas have waxed so bold, 
it seems, as to defy and insult our mighty Empire. Of a 
truth it is high time for you to ' flay the face and cleanse 
the heart,' and to amend your ways. If you submit 
humbly to the Celestial dynasty and tender your alle- 
giance, it may give you a chance to purge yourselves of 
your past sins. But if you persist and continue in your 
path of obstinate delusion, your three islands (sic) will 
be laid waste and your people pounded into mincemeat, 
so soon as the armies of his Divine Majesty set foot upon 
your shores." 

Lin addressed this dispatch to the Queen of England 
in the style which Chinese officials habitually use in ad- 
dressing their equals, and not in the form of a memorial 
to a crowned head. It was not a wise policy for one to 
adopt who proposed to destroy the British fleets with 
stinkpots. 

At Peking, counsels were sharply divided between 
making peace on the terms demanded by the British and 
war a outrance. The rabid conservatives were then, as 
they are to-day even in Young China, all bombast and 
bravado, and they fiercely denounced Mu Ch'ang-a and 
his policy of truckling to the barbarians. There were 
amongst them, as there are to-day, sincere patriots who 
sinned in ignorance, and there were brave men, like the 
Manchu commander of the Tartar garrison at Chinkiang, 
who fought valiantly and died for their blind faith in the 
invincible supremacy of the Middle Kingdom. In the 
beginning of 1841, the Emperor's opinions, after several 
vacillations, were identical with, and probably inspired, 
those of the Canton authorities. In January he issued 
a decree (similar to those of Tzu Hsi in 1900), ordering 
his faithful people to drive the hated foreigner into the 

396 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

sea. But within a few months, after Chusan and Ningpo 
had fallen into the hands of the British, wiser counsels 
began to prevail. 

A typical example of the Chinese patriot of those days 
was Wang Ting-lin, Grand Secretary and Grand Coun- 
cillor. With all the strength of a masterful and sincere 
nature, he opposed Mu Ch'ang-a's peace policy and advo- 
cated war at all costs. He impeached Mu at audience, 
comparing him to the historic traitor Ch'in Kuei of the 
Sung dynasty;^ and protesting against the signing of any 
treaty of peace with the barbarians. He criticised severely 
the Emperor's action in cashiering the Viceroy Lin Tse- 
hsii, and frankly expressed his opinion that Mu Ch'ang-a 
was working for his private ends, actuated by personal 
grudges. The Emperor refused to listen to him, and, 
shaking his sleeve in token of dismissal, rose from the 
Throne. Wang, moved to the point where etiquette is 
forgotten, clung to the Emperor's robe and continued to 
pour out impassioned words. Tao Kuang looked away 
and left him, without reply. Wang Ting-lin thereupon 
went straightway to his own house, indited a valedictory 
memorial impeaching Mu, begged the Emperor to behead 
him in order to satisfy the national conscience, and hanged 
himself. 

So died a sincere but misguided patriot. But the 
sequel was equally significant, illustrating the cross- 
currents and inscrutable depths of life in the Forbidden 
City. On the morning after Wang's suicide an official 
named Ch'en, one of Mu's partisans and a Secretary of 
the Grand Council, noticed that Wang did not appear 
as usual for audience. As soon as his routine duties 
were ended, he hurried to Wang's house to ascertain the 
cause of his absence. There, in the main hall, he found 
the body still hanging, it being the unwritten law that 

^ Who weakly advocated making peace with the Ch'in Tartars. 
His statue is still spat upon by the vulgar in the temple where it stands. 

397 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

when a member of the Council commits suicide (no in- 
frequent penalty of greatness in China) the body must 
not be cut down until the Emperor has been informed 
and issued his further orders in the matter. 

Wang's son showed the valedictory memorial to Ch'en, 
who read it and said : " The Emperor was very angry 
with His Excellency your father yesterday. If you 
present this memorial, your father will obtain no post- 
humous honours and your own career will be ruined. 
You had better suppress it." A fellow-provincial of 
Wang's, also of Mu's party, came in at this moment and 
concurred in the advice which Ch'en had given. Wang's 
family thereupon begged Ch'en to indite and substitute 
another memorial; Ch'en did so, adding that Wang had 
died suddenly of heart failure. Tao Kuang, greatly 
grieved and full of remorse for what had happened, con- 
ferred high posthumous honours on his faithful servant. 
Afterwards, when Ch'en showed the valedictory memorial 
to Mu, he was much startled and expressed deep gratitude 
for what Ch'en had done. His gratitude was genuine and 
resulted in Ch'en's rapid promotion. In ten years he rose 
to be President of a Board. 

The Chinese, firm believers in the Asiatic doctrine which 
visits the sins of the father upon the children, even unto 
the third and fourth generation, point to the fact that 
Mu Ch'ang-a's descendants have fallen upon evil days. 
Mu's son was a superintendent of the Imperial Granaries 
— ^the Bannermen's Tribute Rice Intendency — but his 
grandson is a well-known actor of more than doubtful 
reputation, who plays female parts and is known in the 
tea-houses by the nickname of the " Virtuous Young 
Gentleman " — a Chinese Charmides. The moral sense 
of the literati considers this a fitting sequel to the career 
of Mu Ch'ang-a, whose only proved offence was that he 
advised making peace with enemies whom he knew to 
be stronger than anything that China could bring to bear 

398 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

against them. Wang's sons were greatly blamed for 
suppressing their father's patriotic memorial. 

The Treaty of Nanking was Mu Ch'ang-a's work, and it 
served beyond all doubt to postpone for a time the 
appearance of a British force at the gates of Peking. 
After the suicide of Wang Ting-lin, there was only one 
of the Grand Council who opposed Mu's policy, and this 
in a half-hearted manner. 

When the draft of the proposed Treaty of Peace was 
handed in by Mu, the Emperor took it away with him 
from the Council. He spent the rest of that day and 
most of the night in pacing up and down the corridor 
of his Palace, deep in anxious thought. Several times 
he was heard to mutter " impossible " and to sigh deeply. 
At last, at 3 a.m., he stamped his foot and proceeded to 
the audience chamber, where he affixed the " vermilion 
pencil " to the draft. This done, he sealed it securely in 
an envelope and sent it by the hand of a eunuch to the 
office of the Grand Council. " The Councillors have not 
arrived," said the eunuch, " the Palace gates are still 
closed." " Wait there," repUed Tao Kuang, " until Mu 
Ch'ang-a arrives. Give him this envelope but don't let 
any one else see it." The document sanctioned the sig- 
nature of the Peace Treaty, but it was only with great 
reluctance and bitterness of soul that Tao Kuang accepted 
it. Such was the effect of the first serious impact of the 
West on the Dragon Throne. 

It was in the summer of 1840 that the British fleet 
first blockaded Canton and, sailing northwards, seized the 
island of Chusan, which led to the degradation of Lin 
Tse-hsii and to the appointment of the Manchu Ch'i Shan^ 
to be Imperial Commissioner at Canton. It was Ch'i 
Shan who agreed to the cession of Hongkong (occupied 

^ Commonly known in contemporary writings {vide Hue's Tibet) as 
Ki shan or Ki shen (Boulger). He was the grandfather of Jiii Ch'eng, 
who surrendered Wu Ch'ang to the rebels in October 1911. 

399 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

by the British on 26th January, 1841) in exchange for 
the rendition of Chusan. This surrender so enraged Tao 
Kuang, at that time under the influence of the war party, 
that he deprived Ch'i Shan of his Grand Secretaryship 
and refused to recognise his negotiations. The Throne 
(as above stated) insisted on war to the knife and the 
extermination of the barbarians. Ch'i Shan, according 
to the Chinese chroniclers, did his best to retrieve the 
situation by a characteristically Oriental acte de guerre. 
He sent privily to the British Commissioner (Elliott) 
offering him a beautiful concubine and curios, in the 
hope of cancelling his territorial negotiations; but the 
barbarians were not amenable to reason in this form, 
for they proceeded to bombard Bocca Tigris. It was at 
this stage that Ch'i Shan memorialised the Throne, frankly 
stating his opinion that further fighting would only make 
matters worse. " We possess no impregnable defences," 
said he, " and our military equipment is utterly useless. 
Our troops are feeble and our subjects disloyal. If we 
engage in hostilities, disaster will overtake us. For the 
present, wisdom dictates the adoption of measures of 
expediency." 

Subsequent events and their results, as embodied in 
the Treaty of Nanking (August 1842) justified Ch'i Shan. 

Towards the end of Tao Kuang' s reign, a great soldier 
and statesman made his appearance on the scene, who 
was to achieve fame in years to come and to assist the 
great Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi in restoring, for a time, 
the prestige of the Manchu dynasty. This was Tseng 
Kuo-fan.^ Concerning him an interesting story is told 
by the Chinese annalists, illustrating the inveterate faith 
in omens, which Tao Kuang shared with all the Sovereigns 
of the Manchu dynasty. 

One night, greatly troubled by tidings of internal 
rebellion and the persistent truculence of the British, 
1 Vide China under the Empress Dowager, p. 64 et seq. 

400 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

he dreamed that the Forbidden City was invaded by a 
band of ruffians : armed with staves and swords, they 
pressed upon the Imperial Throne and overturned it. 
It seemed to him, in his dream, that he stood there, 
alone, confronting the rebels and helpless to resist them. 
He called for help, but all his attendants had fled. He 
was just about to fly from the Palace in hopeless shame 
and confusion, when a man rushed forward, dispersed 
the rebels, and replaced the Throne in its former position. 
The Emperor, overjoyed, was on the point of thanking 
his rescuer, when he awoke. He never spoke of this 
dream, but often thought of it, and his deliverer's features 
were clearly impressed on his memory. Two years after- 
wards, when a batch of newly elected Hanlin doctors was 
presented at Court, he recognised in one of them the 
hero of the dream. This was Tseng Kuo-fan, whose 
rapid promotion was from that moment assured. 

Another story, told by the Chinese to account for 
Tseng Kuo-fan's meteoric advancement, may, or may 
not be true, but in any case it throws some light on the 
relations existing between the Sovereign and his chief 
advisers and on the secret of Mu Ch'ang-a's great influence 
at Court. 

Mu, knowing Tseng Kuo-fan as a member of the Hanlin 
Academy, had a high opinion of his talents. One day 
when the Emperor was discussing with him the literary 
ability of the Academicians, Mu replied : " There is 
literary talent in abundance, but Tseng Kuo-fan is almost 
the only one worthy of high office. He has remarkable 
knowledge of State affairs and never fails to notice every- 
thing." Mu subsequently told Tseng what he had said, 
and a few days later there came an order from the Emperor 
for Tseng to attend for audience. He went out to the 
Summer Palace and was given the menu for the day, 
which by prescribed custom, officials received at special 
audience must take with them to the audience chamber 

DD 401 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

and formally present to the Emperor. He was escorted 
by a eunuch to a small chamber and directed to await 
the Imperial summons. 

The day wore on to sunset, but no summons came. At 
last a message was brought, ordering him to present himself 
again on the following morning. Tseng, quite at a loss, 
hurried to Mu's residence, to ask him the meaning of the 
procedure. For a while Mu was perplexed, but suddenly 
a light seemed to flash upon him. " Were there any 
scrolls or books in the room in which you waited ? " he 
asked. " Yes, the walls w^ere covered with scrolls, but 
I was so nervous about my audience that I never noticed 
them." 

Mu stamped his foot : " That's bad," said he. He then 
summoned his confidential servant and handed him a 
bank note for 400 taels. " Take that to the Palace and 
find out into which room Tseng tajen was shown to-day. 
Then bribe the eunuch in charge to allow you to copy 
every one of the scrolls on the wall. Come back as soon 
as possible." 

Turning to Tseng, he said : " You had better stay here 
to-night ; we will go to the Palace together in the morning." 
About midnight the messenger returned and handed a 
copy of the scrolls on the wall to Mu. They were all 
autograph homilies by the last three Emperors, advice 
on the art of government and admonitions to officials. 
They contained allusions to various events and to many 
officials of the three reigns. Only a man possessed of 
exceptional knowledge of Chinese political history could 
explain these allusions. His Majesty had wished to test 
Tseng's abilities and to ascertain if Mu's commendation 
of him was fully warranted. Mu handed the document 
to Tseng ; " Study this carefully," he said ; " you will find 
it a ladder to promotion." 

Next day, when the hour of audience arrived, the 
Emperor questioned Tseng for nearly an hour concerning 

402 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the various matters recorded on the scrolls, and was 
greatly pleased by Tseng's apt answers. 

Tao Kuang's successor, his fourth son, who misgoverned 
the Empire under the reign-title of Hsien Feng, was the 
worst example of debauched degeneracy in the history 
of the dynasty. Here again the Chinese chroniclers tell 
a tale which, if true, shows how the wit of one man, 
intelligently applied to things apparently trivial, may 
upset the counsels of kings and affect the destinies of 
millions. 

Towards the end of his reign, Tao Kuang, concerned 
as to the succession, had practically decided to confer it 
upon his sixth, and favourite, son. Prince Kung, a young 
man infinitely superior in character and intelligence to 
him who eventually became Heir to the Throne. It 
happened, however, that the latter's tutor, Ts'ao Chen- 
yung, knew of the Emperor's predilection, and, naturally, 
desiring to enhance his own position, cast about for some 
means of inducing the Sovereign to change his mind and 
to confer the succession upon his pupil. In this he was 
successful. 

The Emperor, following the dynastic tradition, had 
given orders one day that his sons should go hunting in 
the Southern Park. Etiquette required that a Prince 
who had not completed his studies should ask his tutor 
for permission to absent himself for the day. The fourth 
Prince therefore attended at the lecture room in the 
Palace, and found his tutor there alone. The Prince went 
up, and making the bow which ceremony requires, asked 
for leave. Ts'ao asked for what purpose, and he an- 
swered : " The Emperor wishes me to take a day's 
shooting." Ts'ao whispered to him : " A-ko,^ take my 
advice : when you reach the park, sit you and watch the 
others shooting. Do not fire a shot, and give orders to 

1 The Manchu word used in addressing or speaking of Princes, 
meaning literally " Elder Brother," 

403 



THE COURT OF [PEKING 

your huntsmen not to set any traps. If the Emperor asks 
you for your reason for this, at the end of the day, tell 
him that at this spring season it is not right to take life, 
because both beasts and birds have their young to take 
care of, and such slaughter is a violation of natural har- 
mony. Take care not to quarrel with your brothers but 
do not endeavour to emulate them. If you, A-ko, will 
only remember this, you are certain to win His Majesty's 
approval, for I know his disposition. On this hinges 
your whole future, either one of glory or comparative 
obscurity. Be careful; do not forget." 

The Prince carried out these instructions, and Prince 
Kung secured the largest bag. He was elated, and seeing 
his brother's beaters standing empty-handed around him, 
chaffed him on having taken no part in the chase. He 
then asked him his reasons for not shooting. " Oh, for 
no particular reason. I am not very well and did not 
feel like violent exercise." 

When the Princes returned in the evening, and reported 
to their father, only Hsien Feng had an empty bag. To 
Tao Kuang's questions he replied exactly as his tutor 
had told him to do. The Emperor was greatly delighted, 
and said : " This is the conduct of a superior man," and 
from that day decided to make him his heir. 

In later years, when Tao Kuang had passed away, Hsien 
Feng raised his tutor to the rank of Assistant Grand 
Secretary, but he died before attaining to still higher 
honours. The Emperor wept bitterly and proceeded in 
person to offer a sacrifice to his remains, besides conferring 
upon him the highest posthumous honours given to a 
Chinese during the last century. 

So Hsien Feng, winning his father's favour after the 
manner of Jacob, reigned in his stead and hastened the 
swift decline of the Manchu dynasty. 



404 



CHAPTER XVII 

HSIEN FENG AND TUNG CHIH : 
THE FACILE DESCENT 

The inner history of the Court and Government of 
China, from the accession of Hsien Feng in 1851 down to 
the death of the Empress Tzu Hsi in 1908, has ah^eady 
been told in China Under the Empress Dowager. The 
following chapters are supplementary to that work, and 
intended only to throw some additional light on the men 
and chief events of that period, and particularly on the life 
of the Court. 

In the persons of the two Emperors, Hsien Feng and 
T'ung Chill, father and son, the tree of demoralisation 
brought forth its predestined fruits, whose evil savour 
was to infect the Forbidden City henceforth until the 
passing of the dynasty. Hsien Feng came to the Throne, 
at the age of nineteen, a thoroughly dissolute and depraved 
specimen of humanity, physically and morally con- 
temptible. He lived to see his Empire ravaged by the 
Taiping rebellion and preserved only by the timely help 
of the despised European. He died, a fugitive from 
Peking, his capital desecrated for the first time in the 
history of the Manchus by the presence of invaders, his 
Palace burned and his treasures looted. Peking, that for 
over two hundred years had known security under the 
Manchu rule, learned under Hsien Feng the first of many 
bitter lessons, receiving in the mild visitation of the 

405 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Anglo-French armies a warning and a foretaste of the 
grievous calamities that have now left it a city of the 
destitute. 

Before two years had passed of the ten years of his ill- 
starred reign, Hsien Feng's Throne was tottering under 
the repeated blows struck at it by the triumphant forces 
of the Taipings; the rebel chief had proclaimed himself 
Emperor and established his capital at Nanking. What- 
ever was left of virility and patriotism at Peking gnashed 
its teeth in impotent rage, not so much because of the 
imminence of the danger, as because of the hopeless 
depravity of the Sovereign and the men whom he delighted 
to honour. Rome was burning whilst China's Nero not 
only fiddled, but danced obscenely to his own music. 
Whilst province after province passed through fire and 
sword to acknowledge the sway of the Rebel Emperor, 
the Lord of Heaven busied himself with the provision of 
new lights for his harem or joined his evil genius, the 
notorious Minister Su Shun, in orgies of unspeakable 
debauch in the low haunts of the Chinese quarter. 

The following well-authenticated story illustrates the 
frame of mind in which the Emperor and the Court 
of the Great Pure Dynasty prepared to meet the most 
serious crisis of the Taiping Rebellion, at the moment 
of the fall of Nanking (March 1853). It recalls vividly 
to mind the attitude of the eunuch-ridden Mings, eating, 
drinking and making merry when Li Tzfi-ch'eng and his 
army were at the very gates of the capital. The parallel 
is completed by the fact that, thanks to the evil influence 
of men like Ho Shen and Su Shun, the eunuchs' power 
in the Palace had been slowly but surely increasing since 
the death of Ch'ien Lung, and was now a conspicuous 
factor in the corruption of a Court sunken in luxury and 
gross living. 

The spring of 1853 had been appointed for the selection 
of handmaidens of Manchu stock to enter the Palace. 

406 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

The Court Chamberlains and eunuchs had hsted and 
collected a large number of nominees for the harem, and 
on the day after that which brought the news of the fall 
of Nanking, a long line of these young women stood 
waiting, at dawn, outside the gate of the Palace of Femi- 
nine Repose. Amongst these girls was one, the daughter 
of a retired Manchu lieutenant, named Tuan, who wept 
bitterly at being compelled to leave her father, now a 
widower, sixty years of age and very poor. She had been 
able to supply him with the necessaries of life by giving 
lessons and by needlework, and now she feared he would 
die of sheer want, for he had no sons or brothers to help 
him. But there was no way of escaping from her present 
position : her name had been included in the list of 
handmaidens eligible, and the captain of her Banner was 
responsible for her appearance. 

The news of the fall of Nanking naturally and forcibly 
disturbed the even tenour of Hsien Feng's day, and 
compelled him to discuss with the Grand Council a situa- 
tion so fraught with danger to his Government and House. 
Even Su Shun himself was greatly disturbed, the Censorate 
buzzing like a wasps' nest and memorials pouring in. 
The moment was unpropitious for dalliance; audiences 
must be held and orders given. It was nearly sunset 
before the business of the day was done and Hsien Feng 
could give a thought to the bevy of women expectant at 
his gates. They had stood about waiting patiently all 
day, many without food and all very nervous ; by evening 
most of them were completely exhausted and many were 
in tears. 

One of the eunuchs in charge rebuked them for weeping, 
and said : " His Majesty will soon be coming to inspect 
you. How dare you behave in this unseemly way? 
Has the whip no terrors for you ? " On hearing this they 
all trembled and wept the more, and none dared reply to 
the eunuch except the motherless maiden, who answered 

407 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

him in a clear, firm voice, saying : ^' I have been forced 
to leave my home and to enter the Palace. If I am 
selected for service here, it means that I shall be imprisoned 
for the rest of my days and never see my father again. 
In life we shall be separated ; in death divided. Can you 
wonder if I weep? Any one with a heart must do so. 
I am not afraid to die, and care nought for your threatened 
punishment ! Have not the Taipings seized the Yangtsze 
Valley, and now that Nanking has fallen, is not half of 
the Empire as good as lost? Yet the Son of Heaven is 
not concerned to find competent generals to take the field 
and repel the invader, so that his Empire may be saved; 
his time is given to the selection of women who may 
minister to his pleasures. He drags the daughters of the 
people from their homes and imprisons them in his Palace, 
where they will never breathe again the air of freedom, 
so that he may enjoy himself for a brief space ! Little he 
recks of the impending fate of his ancestral altars and the 
tutelary gods ! The Taiping host will soon be knocking 
at his Palace gates, and then the nine spirits of his ances- 
tors will lack their burnt offerings and worship of ap- 
pointed days. I do not fear death : and for your threats 
of the whip I care nought at all." 

At this outburst, spoken in a loud voice, the eunuch 
endeavoured to quifet her by putting his hand over her 
mouth, but at that moment the Emperor, in his chair, ap- 
peared upon the scene. The eunuch bound her hands and 
led her to the presence, bidding her kneel. But she 
refused to do obeisance and looked defiantly at the Em- 
peror. Now His Majesty had heard the last few words 
of her speech, and good-naturedly asked what all the 
trouble was about, whereupon she deliberately repeated 
what she had said. Hsien Feng was delighted with her 
spirit : " You are a true heroine," said he; " untie her 
hands and lead her to see the Empress." The Chinese 
chroniclers, who like to make such stories end happily 

408 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

and with a good moral, aver that Hsien Feng gave this 
outspoken maiden in marriage to one of the Imperial 
Princes who had just lost his wife (it being the custom 
for the Emperor to decide the matrimonial affairs of the 
Imperial Clan), and in this position she was able to 
support her father in his old age. 

At the beginning of Hsien Feng's reign there were, as 
usual, two parties about the Throne, the one honest and 
patriotic according to its lights, the other utterly corrupt. 
The acknowledged leader of the powers of evil in high 
places was the Imperial Clansman Su Shun, who set 
himself to debauch the body and soul of the young 
Emperor by every kind of wickedness. Not that Hsien 
Feng required much enticing in that direction, for his 
tendencies were those of a vicious sensualist from his 
youth up. Su Shun merely supplied the match of experi- 
ence and suggestion to a brand all ready for the burning. 
Before long he became the ante damnee of the depraved 
monarch, whose physical condition bore testimony to his 
way of living ; often, after a night of prolonged orgies, his 
legs tottered under him at the hour of audience and on 
one occasion he was unable properly to perform the 
sacrificial rites at the Temple of Heaven. 

The only official who bravely tried to counteract the 
evil influence of Su Shun at Court was the Grand Secretary, 
Po Sui; ^ an honest, straightforward man, whose blunt 
speech and fearless criticisms gradually came to offend 
the Emperor. Su Shun conspired with the Princes Yi 
and Cheng (who later, upon Hsien Feng's death, joined 
him in usurping the Regency) to get rid of their un- 
compromising and plain-spoken opponent, and, judging 
by documentary and circumstantial evidence, there 
appears to be good reason for believing that Hsien Feng 
was a party to the plot. It ended in Po Sui's decapitation 

1 Vide China under the Empress Dowager, p. 81, where, by a clerical 
error, his name is wrongly given as Po Chun. 

409 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

on the public execution ground, and the complete su- 
premacy of Su Shun and his party from 1859 until the death 
of Hsien Feng, and Tzu Hsi's successful couy d'etat against 
the usurping Regents. 

The scheme which Su Shun initiated for the undoing 
and judicial murdering of Po Sui is worth describing, 
because it reveals something of the depths of subterranean 
intrigue that lay behind the gilded splendour of the 
Dragon Throne; at the same time it illustrates and 
explains the complicated machinery by which the instinct 
of Chinese rulers has always fairly safeguarded the road 
to public office — ^that is, the road to wealth — from the worst 
abuses of venality and nepotism. The system of public 
service examinations, with all its elaborate (and, on the 
whole, effective) precautions against chicanery and fraud, 
has probably contributed more than any other factor to 
the permanent stability of China's civilisation. It is 
surely a striking testimony to the intuitive wisdom of 
that civilisation and to its binding force, that, even in 
times of chaos and corruption, China's worst rulers have 
usually realised the all-importance of honesty and fair 
play in the examinations for the literary degrees, 
whereby the humblest subject could rise to the highest 
offices in the land. Even the Taipings established a 
similar competitive system, at their Court of a day, in 
Nanking. 

At the examinations held for the Metropolitan degree, 
in the autumn of 1858, Po Sui was Chief Examiner. 
Thoroughly honest and incapable of favouritism himself, 
he seems to have suffered from the failing, common 
enough amongst high officials, of taking too much for 
granted in his subordinates. The position of Chief 
Examiner, at all times one of great dignity, was then one 
of peculiar and dangerous responsibility, because for some 
time past there had been ugly rumours of bribery and 
impersonation in connection with other examinations. 

410 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

It is doubtful whether these had come to the ears of Po 
Sui, whose character was easy-going and trustful; in any 
case, contemporarj^ opinions and posterity alike have 
acquitted him of all suspicion in reference to the cases 
which, thanks to the malevolence of Su Shun, cost him 
his life. 

Po Sui had a confidential servant (of the type of Gehazi) 
named Chin Hsiang, who saw and seized opportunities 
for himself in his master's high office. To him there came 
secretly a Manchu named P'ing Ling, a man of good 
family but disreputable habits, who made a living by 
singing at banquets in woman's attire with his face 
powdered. Being young and good-looking, this ne'er-do- 
weel cherished ambitions to enter the public service. He 
therefore bribed Chin Hsiang with a thousand taels to 
secure for him a high place at the examination. Chin 
Hsiang arranged for a substitute to enter in Ping's name, 
whose essay was awarded the seventh place on the list. 

Another rich but illiterate candidate, a native of Canton, 
named Lo, also bribed Chin Hsiang, who in this case went 
so far, with the help of the assistant examiner, as to 
tamper with the order of the successful papers, including 
Lo's amongst them, after it had been relegated to the 
supplementary list by the examiners. When the revising 
examiner came to inspect Lo's essay, he saw at once that 
an irregularity had been committed, but, thinking that 
it must have occurred with Po Sui's knowledge, made no 
comment at the time. It is possible that he foresaw an 
opportunity of making friends of the mammon of un- 
righteousness and gaining the favour of the powerful Su 
Shun. In any case, he informed one of the Censors, 
named Meng, of Lo's case, and Meng prepared a memorial 
impeaching the whole staff of examiners, with Po Sui as 
their responsible chief. 

Before handing in the memorial, Meng happened to be 
dining one evening at the Restaurant of Abundant 

411 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Blessings in the Coal Market Street, when he overheard 
a conversation between P'ing Ling and a couple of actors 
who were dining with him. P'ing Ling was in his cups 
and was talking in a loud voice. The Censor did not 
know him by sight, but pricked up his ears at the following 
remark : " Not long ago I was no better off than either 
of you; people looked down upon me as the scum of 
society. But now I have taken a high place at the 
examination and that is all over. If you like I can help 
you fellows to attain success by the same means, when 
the next examination takes place. It is only a matter 
of paying big squeezes, and there's no reason at all why 
you shouldn't come out near the top of the list." 

Upon this the Censor made inquiries, and ascertained 
P'ing Ling's name. Waiting until the actors had become 
thoroughly fuddled with wine, he proceeded to introduce 
himself to P'ing as an old family acquaintance. Telling 
him that he was one of the unsuccessful candidates from 
Nanking, he asked how he could arrange to be successful 
at the next attempt. P'ing, too drunk to be suspicious, 
told him the whole story. Next day the Censor, adding 
this new material to his memorial, laid the whole plot 
before the Throne. Hsien Feng was greatly incensed and 
bade the Board of Rites bring for his inspection the 
successful essays of P'ing Ling and Lo, which, in accord- 
ance with custom, had been filed in the archives. After 
perusing the essays, the Emperor ordered that these two 
candidates should forthwith undergo a special examination 
in the Imperial library. The Emperor himself selected 
the themes, the prose essay being " In what does happiness 
consist? " and the verse theme, " A wise man hesitates 
to talk in front of a parrot." Prince Cheng and Su Shun 
were appointed supervisors of this examination. As both 
the candidates were illiterate, the result, as may be 
imagined, was laughable enough, except for those con- 
cerned. Their names were erased from the list of successful 

412 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

candidates; Lo committed suicide, and P'ing Ling died 
in prison. The examiners were then handed over to the 
Board of Punishments. 

At this stage Su Shun appeared upon the scene. Fate 
had dehvered his adversary into his hand, for he, Su Shun, 
was President of the Board of Punishments. When first 
the Board reported on Po Sui's case, Hsien Feng was 
reluctant to impose the death penalty, upon which Su 
Shun and his confederates (the Princes Yi and Cheng) 
insisted, but Su was able to persuade the weak and 
dissolute young monarch to adopt stern measures. Hsien 
Feng knew that Po Sui was a just man and rightly popular, 
even as he knew that Su Shun was detested for his avarice 
and cruelty; he knew that Po Sui had deserved well of 
the State and that his offence in the present instance was 
one of carelessness at most; he therefore hesitated and 
summoned the Grand Council to discuss the matter. 
Finally he was persuaded to issue the decree which con- 
demned Po Sui to death, and appointed Su Shun and Chao 
Kuang to superintend the execution. This decree reads : 
" Prince Yi and his colleagues have memorialised Us in 
regard to the examination abuses case of last autumn, and 
submitted their proposals as to the penalties to be imposed. 
We have carefully perused and considered their report. 
There are certain points in it to which We desire to call 
the attention of Our Ministers. The examination system 
is intended for the selection of candidates for government 
service, and severe penalties are imposed for malpractices 
and favouritism on the part of the examiners. So far, 
during Our dynasty, there has been no case of a member 
of the Commission endangering his life by conniving at 
malpractices. But now, to Our sorrow and surprise, the 
Grand Secretary, Po Sui, has gone so far as to defy the 
law and to forget the benefits bestowed upon him. As a 
Grand Secretary and Minister of the Presence for many 
years, besides having held office as Grand Councillor and 

413 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Comptroller of the Plousehold, how could Po Sui have 
been ignorant of the law, especially as his own career began 
at a public examination ? He acceded to the proposal of 
his servant, Chin Hsiang, to be allowed to substitute a 
revised essay for that of one of the candidates. If Chin 
Hsiang were still alive, there would be no difficulty in 
establishing the facts before the Tribunal of Justice. We 
have precedents to guide Our decision in the dynastic 
laws, and are by no means straining a point to serve the 
ends of justice. All We are now considering is the evidence 
of Po Sui himself, to which We have given careful considera- 
tion, as We find that although there are certain extenuating 
circumstances, the law must be allowed to take its course. 
" At this point We pause and the tears flow dov/n Our 
cheeks.^ In accordance with the advice of my Princes 
and Ministers, We command that Po Sui be summarily 
decapitated and that Su Shun and Chao Kuang shall duly 
superintend his execution in the public square. The 
examination secretaries, P'u An, Lo Hung-yi and Li 
Hung-ling, are also to be decapitated, that the law may 
be vindicated. The assistant examiner, Chu Feng-piao, 
is to be cashiered, for We cannot believe that he actually 
connived at his colleagues' misconduct ; otherwise, he, too, 
would have been, severely punished. The Hanlin Com- 
piler, Tsou Shih-lin, who, in his capacity as junior examiner, 
amended the composition of the successful candidate 
(P'ing Ling), since cashiered, is henceforth and for ever 
debarred from official employment. Twelve of the suc- 
cessful candidates are to be brought up for further in- 
quiries, and the Ministry of Rites is to report on the 
penalties to be imposed on the remainder of the examiners. 
The proctors who were on duty during the examination 
are to report, explaining how two characters in one of the 
essays came to be altered during the process of collecting 

^ In reading Imperial decrees of this type one is frequently reminded 
of Mr. Pecksniff and " the dutj'^ he owed to society." 

414 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the papers. Three of the candidates, Hsieh Sen-chih, 
Hsiang Yiian-p'ei and Li Tan-hiia are to be sent under 
escort from their native places for trial at Peking. 

" Henceforward, the examiners at all all-important 
public examinations, must cleanse their hearts and rid 
themselves of every sort of prejudice, so that no candidate 
shall enter the Government service by unfair means. 
The candidates are each and all to pay more heed to their 
moral character and to inculcate self-respect; let them 
refrain from intrigue and from base attempts to win 
favour, taking warning from the present example. Thus 
will Our object be attained, which is to raise the standard 
of morals among the scholars of the Empire : wdth this 
ideal before Us, We have not shrunk from administering 
exemplary punishment as the law demands. Surely you. 
Our Ministers, will sympathise with Our ideas, and appre- 
ciate the motive which animates Us." 

So Su Shun and the powers of evil triumphed. On the 
day fixed for Po Sui's decapitation, he and the other con- 
demned officials were conveyed in carts to the place of 
execution, known as the Western Market, where they 
were to await the arrival of the Palace decree finally 
confirming the order. Po Sui wore the costume which 
custom requires in the case of high officials condemned to 
be beheaded; he was dressed in plain black silk and his 
official hat was shorn of its red tassel — a sign of mourning. 
On arrival at the place of execution he prostrated himself 
in the direction of the Palace and gave thanks for favours 
received in the past. After this he turned to his son, 
Chung Lien, saying : " The Emperor will surely spare my 
life; he is sending me to the execution ground as a 
warning, but at the last moment I feel sure that he will 
grant a reprieve. AVlien it arrives, I shall go to the 
Temple of the ' Evening Ray ' and wait there until 
arrangements are made for me to set off to my place of 
banishment. Do you return home and prepare the 

415 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

various things which I shall need on the journey." (When 
high officials are sentenced to death, the Throne frequently 
commutes the capital penalty at the last moment to one 
of perpetual banishment. Po fully expected to be sent 
to Turkestan or to the post roads.) 

He had scarcely finished speaking, when Chao Kuang, 
the second official supervising the execution and one of 
Po Sui's oldest friends, arrived in his chair. His eyes were 
red with weeping. He had been waiting at the Palace 
for the final confirmation or modification of the sentence. 
As soon as Po Sui saw him, he said : " It's all over. Left 
to himself, the Emperor would never have been so pitiless : 
Su Shun has been my evil genius from first to last. It is 
he who has hardened His Majesty's heart. After all, 
what does my death matter? The day is close at hand 
when Su Shun will share my fate. You must look forward 
to that day." 

With that, he beckoned to the headsman, who came 
forward and fell on one knee, saying : "If Your Excellency 
the Grand Secretary will be pleased to kneel down, I will 
give you a reverent send-off to the next world." Po Sui 
did so, and the executioner, with knee bent in respect, 
deftly cut off his head at the first stroke. 

Before signing the fatal order, Hsien Feng had sum- 
moned Chao Kuang to the presence. The Emperor was 
seated on the Throne with the vermilion pencil in his hand 
but seemed reluctant to sign the death warrant. For a 
long time he hesitated, repeatedly exclaiming : " Although 
legally his crime deserves death, there are extenuating 
circumstances." Su Shun replied : " Whatever the cir- 
cumstances, this is no case for your clemency. Your 
Majesty has admitted as much." 

The weak monarch still hesitated to sign. Finally, in 
desperation, he handed the pencil to Su Shun, who promptly 
marked against Po Sui's name the fatal hook. Chao Kuang 
burst into tears and departed for the place of execution. 

416 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

After Po Sui's death, one of his proteges presented the 
following pair of memorial scrolls, which were much ad- 
mired as an example of skill in dealing with a delicate 
subject : 

" In life he attained to high honours, in death he was 
unfortunate. Come bounteous dew and rain, or come the 
thunder bolt of wrath, all proceed alike from the Imperial 
will." 

" The Minister's gate may have been like a market,^ 
but the Minister's heart was pure as water. Do you, 
majestic Heaven and divine earth, look down on him with 
pity, loyal and forsaken." 

Two years afterwards, when the masterful statecraft of 
Tzu Hsi had defeated all the plots of the usurping Regents, 
Su Shun met his death on the same spot which had wit- 
nessed the execution of his victim, Po Sui.^ But whereas 
Po Sui's death was universally deplored, that of Su Shun 
was welcomed by the populace of Peking with general 
rejoicings. He went to his doom, clad in a long white 
robe of sackcloth. As he emerged from the Shunchih gate 
of the inner city on his way to the execution ground, it 
was noticed that his face was covered with dust, for a high 
wind was blowing. Arriving at the Western Market, he 
alighted somewhat feebly from the open cart in which the 
condemned are conveyed, and began to say a few words 
of farewell to Prince Jui, who had been commanded by 
Tzu Hsi to superintend the execution. He was not given 
time to finish, but was dragged forward, made to kneel, 
and in a moment his head fell, his death being greeted by 
loud applause from the crowd. The same headsman 
officiated who had dispatched Po Sui two years before. 
Not one of Su Shun's family was present to see the last 
of him : his sons had gone to the gate of the prison, but 

^ This in allusion to the train of clients attending on an influential 
personage. 

2 Vide China under the Empress Dowager, pp. 47, 48. 
EE 417 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

had been driven away by the gatekeepers with whips. 
Rarely had any high official achieved Su Shun's measure 
of unpopularity with the people of Peking. 

When officials of high rank are unfortunate enough to 
suffer the fate of public decapitation, it is the custom that 
the executioner, in exchange for a heavy fee, stabs his 
victim to the heart before severing his head, the idea 
being that by this means little or no blood would be shed. 
On coming forward, the executioner is presented with a 
basin and towel wherewith to perform ablutions. In Su 
Shun's case, however, all these delicate attentions were 
omitted. It is also the custom that after the execution 
the headsman shall immediately sew the head on again, 
almost as soon as it falls to the ground : for this a fee of 
1000 taels is usually claimed.^ But Su Shun's body was 
left where it fell, and the dogs came and licked up his blood. 
His head was hung for many days in the public square. 

Su Shun's confederates, the usurping Regents, the 
Princes Yi and Cheng, shared his fate in 1861, by order of 
Tzii Hsi. Both met death with philosophic calm. Prince 
Yi's family were permitted to be present in the Court of 
the Imperial Clan, and he gave them elaborate instructions 
as to his funeral and the division of his property. He 
desired to be clad in white silk robes and particularly 
asked that his portrait (which is always painted after 
death and has a semi-sacred significance in connection with 
the rites of ancestral worship) should also be mounted on 
plain silk. Prince Cheng showed signs of agitation, and 
his last utterances were indistinct, but in his case, too, the 
family was present. 

The nooses used for both were covered with delicate 
silken material. Two low tea tables were placed in the 
" empty chamber " of the Clan Court, ^ and the two 

^ This was done in the case of Ch'i Hsiu, who was decapitated in 
1901 in the presence of the alHed troops. 

2 The name is euphemistic, in the sense that the room was never 
to be tenanted except by Princes or Clansmen under sentence. 

418 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Princes were then invited to mount the tables and adjust 
the nooses on their necks amidst the lamentations of their 
respective families. Prince Yi had no sooner complied, 
and the table been drawn away, than he expired. Prince 
Cheng was less fortunate. He was a man of enormous 
weight, and no sooner had he placed the noose around his 
neck than the rope broke and he fell heavily to the ground. 
At the second attempt he was successful. The underlings 
at the Clan Court naturally availed themselves of the 
opportunity to squeeze the unfortunate families of the 
once all-powerful Princes. Their relatives had to pay 
out over one hundred thousand taels before being allowed 
to remove the bodies and arrange for their honourable 
burial. 

In August 1861, Hsien Feng died, a fugitive and a 
physical wreck, at Jehol, in his thirtieth year, leaving the 
Throne to his only son, the Emperor T'ung Chih, then a 
child of six. During his minority, under the Regency of 
Tzu Hsi and her colleague the Empress Tzu An, the tide 
of disintegration was temporarily checked, the Government 
being largely in the hands of wise and liberal statesmen of 
the type of Prince Kung and Wen Hsiang, and the Imperial 
armies led by capable generals, like Tseng Kuo-fan and 
Tso Tsung-t'ang. 

Of T'ung Chih's reign and his personal influence on the 
destinies of the Empire, it is unnecessary to say much, for 
he attained his majority and assumed nominal control of 
the Government in February 1873, and died in January 
1875. That he was never intended to live and to deprive 
Tzu Hsi of her undisputed authority, is certain. Equally 
certain that she encouraged, or took no steps to restrain, 
the vicious tendencies which were matters of notoriety 
in Peking, and which eventually led to his death from a 
disease contracted in the low haunts of the Chinese city.^ 
But the following notes, taken from the reminiscences of 
^ Vide China under the Empress Dowager, pp. 119, 120. 
419 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

an aged eunuch, retired from the Palace after the death of 
Tzii Hsi in 1908, afford instructive information regarding 
certain details of the inner history of the Court at that 
period, and notably on T'ung Chih's marriage to the 
virtuous and pathetically unfortunate A-lu-te. 

Before his marriage, says this eunuch's diary, the young 
Emperor was in the habit of visiting the theatres and 
brothels of the Ch'ien Men quarter in the company of a 
eunuch named Chou, for which purpose (as the Palace 
gates were closed) he had an opening made in the wall just 
outside the Western Gate of Perpetual Peace. At this 
point Chou's cart, drawn by a fast-pacing mule, would 
await him, and it became matter of common gossip in the 
capital that the Son of Heaven was frequently mixed up 
in drunken and disreputable brawls, and would often 
return to the Palace, even after he had attained his 
majority, long after the hour fixed for audiences. In the 
day time he would frequent, incognito, the book and 
picture shops of the Liu Li-ch'ang to purchase lewd 
carvings and paintings of the kind to which the dissolute 
patricians of Peking have always been partial. 

T'ung Chih hated and feared his mother's favourite 
Chief Eunuch, the notorious An Te-hai — who, if the 
common report of the Palace spoke truly, was no eunuch. 
He also disliked Su Shun, who used to bully and tease the 
boy. 

When the time arrived, in the autumn of 1872, for 

arranging the young Emperor's marriage, which took 

place early in the following year, the two maidens selected 

from the large number of eligible candidates were A-Lu-te, 

(the daughter of Ch'ung Ch'i), and a daughter of Feng Hsia, 

the friend of Jung Lu. Tzii Hsi preferred the latter, 

whilst her colleague, the Empress of the Eastern Palace, 

preferred A-Lu-te. As the Co-Regent Empresses could 

not agree, Tzu Hsi finally proposed that T'ung Chih 

should be left to make his own choice : " Let him see 

420 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

both girls ^ and he can select the one he prefers." Tzu 
Hsi felt no doubt that T'ung Chih would be guided by her ^ 
wishes, and she was therefore much displeased when the 
Emperor, on being ushered in, and having the position 
explained to him, replied without hesitation : "I choose 
A-Lu-te as my Empress." Tzii Hsi could not very well 
say more at the moment, so A-Lu-te became Senior Con- 
sort, and the Discerning Concubine, as Lady Feng was now 
called,^ became Senior Secondary Consort. 

After the marriage, Tzu Hsi used often to scold and 
revile her son for his foolish choice. " You ought to have 
done as I bade you and chosen the Discerning Concubine. 
I find her intelligent and dutiful, whilst A-Lu-te is a 
feather-head, who knows nothing about Court etiquette. 
Unless she amends I shall have to consider her deposition. 
In any case, I must ask you to cease dallying about her 
Palace, instead of attending to Government business." 
She would also frequently instruct the eunuch Li Lien-ying 
to convey the " Discerning Concubine " at night to the 
monarch's bedchamber, in the hope that she might 
present him with an heir to the Throne, and thus secure 
for herself (Tzii Hsi) a long and undisputed tenure of the 
Regency. As etiquette prescribes, Li would carry the 
Discerning Concubine on his back, with only a cloak 
thrown over her person, and leave her at the lower end 
of the Dragon couch, from which position it was her duty 
to raise herself gradually till she reached the level of the 
Imperial pillow. 

But T'ung Chih cared nought for the lady and avoided 
her as much as possible. Worried by his mother's inter- 

1 An unusual proceeding, which custom prohibits before the marriage 
ceremony, as the bridegroom has nothing to do with the selection of 
his wife. 

2 This lady caused trouble in 1909, by insisting on remaining, in 
resentment which simulated mourning, at the Eastern Mausolea after 
the Old Buddha's interment, but the Empress Lung Yii tempted her 
back to Peking by means of certain concessions as to her precedence 
and emoluments. 

421 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

ference in his domestic affairs, he sought distraction in the 
haunts of the Chinese city, and when he did happen to 
pass a night in the Forbidden City, he would frequently 
leave the Discerning One to undisputed possession of the 
Dragon couch, and take up his quarters in the Palace of 
Heavenly Purity. 

When he fell sick, Tzu Hsi pretended to put the blame 
on A-Lu-te, and soundly rated her for having seduced 
the Emperor from his mother's influence. His death was 
a sore blow to his unhappy widow, whose eyes were 
swollen with weeping. One day her father, a time-serving 
wretch, came in to see her, and subsequently reported to 
Tzu Hsi as follows : "If the Empress is so melancholy the 
best thing she can do, for every one's sake, is to follow 
His Sainted Majesty to the tomb as speedily as possible." 

Two hours later she died, and the uncharitable say that 
Ch'ung Ch'i, anticipating Tzii Hsi's wishes, gave her the 
opium which enabled her to commit suicide, because he 
foresaw trouble ahead if she gave birth to an heir, and 
realised that his own position would then be compromised 
with Tzu Hsi. A large and influential party at Court 
would demand the heir's elevation to the Throne, and un- 
less they succeeded in depriving her of power (which was 
not likely) Tzu Hsi would surely wreak vengeance on 
A-Lu-te's family. So, like a wise man, he took precaution- 
ary measures. 

After the death of Hsien Feng in 1861, the vigorous and 
intelligent policy of his young widow (Tzii Hsi), loyally 
backed by Generals of the stamp of Tseng Kuo-fan and 
Tso Tsung-t'ang, succeeded in stamping out the Taiping 
rebellion — greatly assisted, it is true, by Chinese Gordon's 
" ever -victorious army." It had lasted for thirteen years — 
devastating nine provinces and bringing death and desolation 
to untold millions. Since 1855, the first high incentive and 
semi -religious character of the movement had completely 

422 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

disappeared ; it had become a vast and ruthless horde of 
undisciphned bandits which Hved, au jour le jour, upon 
the country. As it is to-day, so it was then; China's 
rebels could fight and could take cities, but they had no 
system and no cohesion to offer in place of that which 
they had contrived to overthrow. As it is to-day, so it 
was then ; the plunder lust, the insatiable frenzy of loot, 
demoralised both rebels and Imperialists; so that, until 
the arrival on the scene of General Gordon and new 
military ideals, hostilities dragged on almost aimlessly, to 
the ever-increasing distress of non-combatants. 

Nevertheless, it is well to remember that the Taiping 
rebellion, like all other great risings in China against an 
unpopular dynasty, represented originally a genuine 
intention on the part of its leaders to put an end to very 
real grievances and to replace the Manchu dynasty by 
something more efficient and more righteous. The annals 
of the time prove that, even at the last, the movement 
retained a remnant of leaders who kept their first high 
ideals and endeavoured to restrain their lawless forces. 
The following brief extracts from contemporary chronicles 
relate to the last days of Li Hsiu-ch'eng, with whose 
death, after the fall of Nanking (July 1864), the rebellion 
was practically ended. ^ 

To this man, known far and wide throughout Kiangsu 
as the " Patriotic Prince," the Taiping rebellion owed 
much of its original success, and whatever semblance of 
orderly government it had been able to evolve at the Court 
of the " Heavenly King." His military genius was 
undeniable, and his personal character entirely admirable ; 
so much so, that not only was he idolised by his soldiers, 
but by the people, whom he protected, so far as in him 
lay, against oppression. He was a strict disciplinarian, 
insisted on the regular payment of the troops under his 

1 For an account of his death at the hands of Tseng Kuo-fan, vide 
the latter's memorial, China under the Empress Dowager, p. 73. 

423 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

command, and punished rape with decapitation. He 
combined the qualities of a good fighting man with a 
gentle and pious nature; a conscientious observer of the 
rites of his Buddhistic faith, he gave liberal allowances to 
the families of those who had fallen in battle, and instituted 
an annual service of commemorative masses on the Bud- 
dhist All Souls' Day, at which he was wont to appear in 
person, burning incense and joining in the litany for the 
dead. A brave fighter and a gentleman.^ 

It was Li Hsiu-ch'eng who held Soochow against 
Gordon's army in the winter of 1863. Just before the 
fall of the city, in December, the rebel garrison and the 
populace were in desperate straits. The troops had had 
no regular meals for days; nevertheless, the example of 
Li's indomitable courage kept up their spirits. He 
dispatched one of his officers with a letter, asking for help, 
addressed to Hung, the " Heavenly King," at Nanking. 
His messenger was captured and killed by the Imperialists, 
and his letter was preserved by the officer into whose 
hands it fell, who subsequently — admiring Li's splendid 
courage — sent copies of it to his friends. The letter was 
written in a fine running hand, and shows not only a 
brave spirit but every evidence of deep scholarship : 

" From this beleaguered city," it reads, " I indite these 
lines. Our provisions are exhausted; in the camp, the 
cooking pots are empty. The stove is cold and there is 
no drug that can allay the pangs of hunger. Corpses are 

^ It is interesting to note that President Yuan Shih-k'ai gave orders 
last year, to the office for conferring Patents of distinction, to make in- 
quiry concerning the descendants, now surviving, of the Taiping leaders. 
The Office reported that the eldest son of Li Hsiu-ch'eng, named 
Li Cheng-hsiang, is now in his fifty-sixth year. He has forwarded to 
the Patent Office a record of the Taiping rebellion, written by his father, 
which is to be incorporated in the official history of China. Posthumous 
honours will probably be conferred upon Li Hsiu-ch'eng. From this it 
will be seen that no man's words or deeds are ever finally condemned 
in Chinese history. The filial piety of his descendants, and other 
things, may serve in time to rehabilitate his character for posterity. 

424 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

carved in pieces and mothers sell their sons for food. For 
many days past we have been shouting ' Dinner is ready ' 
at meal times, so as to deceive the enemy concerning our 
lack of provisions. Our plight is grievous, resembling 
that of the turtle in the tureen : our danger is as that of 
the tiger at bay upon the mountain precipice. Your 
Majesty has founded a new Empire, but if its roots be 
shaken, the branches are agitated. Soochow is your 
Majesty's lower jaw : if the lips perish, the teeth must 
speedily decay. As soon as you have been able to force 
a way through the beleaguering armies which invest 
Nanking, it behoves you to dispatch troops to our assist- 
ance. I send these few lines beseeching you to take care 
of your health. Interrupting the whetting of my spear, 
I write this message, earnestly praying for your welfare." 

Li escaped from Soochow, that city of dire carnage, 
and lived to take part in the final act of the great drama 
when, at the fall of Nanking in the following July, the 
" Heavenly King " met his fate. Li escaped from Nan- 
king, accompanied only by two lads. One of them was 
the second son of the " Heavenly King," Hung Fu-tien, 
and the other was Li's own page. Hung could not ride, 
and soon got separated from his companions (he was subse- 
quently captured by the Imperialists). Li and his page 
hurried on in the darkness and finally lost their way. 
They were resting at daybreak on a wooded hill when eight 
woodcutters came up. One of them recognised Li and 
addressed him as the Patriotic Prince. Li begged them not 
to betray him. " If you can find a way of taking me safely 
to Huchou in Chekiang, I will give you 30,000 taels." 
The men, moved to tears at his plight, agreed to do so. 

At evening they descended the hill and came to their 
hamlet of Chien Hsi— " West of the Ravine." Their 
movements were hampered because Li and his page were 
burdened with a quantity of jewels, besides having a pack 
mule loaded with gold bars and pearls. The woodcutters 

425 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

hid them in an inner room, and advised Li to disguise him- 
self by shaving his head.^ He refused, saying : " I am 
the subject of the Taiping dynasty; our Empire is 
overthrown and our Sovereign dead. If I am captured 
and brought before the Manchu Commander, my fate is 
sealed, I know. But were I to escape capture by shaving 
my head, I should be false to the principles which made 
me a rebel." 

One of the woodcutters, a man named T'ao, cunning 
and greedy by nature, longed to secure the large reward 
offered for Li by betraying him, but he feared his com- 
panions, who were loyal to Li. So he found a pretext to 
go out, and sought acquaintance in the Manchu camp of 
General Hsiao, whose advice he asked. This man natur- 
ally informed one of the General's bodyguard of Li's 
presence in the neighbouring village, and the General, 
on hearing the story, detained T'ao, entertaining him with 
food and wine, and hurriedly dispatched a troop of horse- 
men to arrest Li. They brought him back, and with him 
his treasure, which the General seized. Hoping to keep 
the matter quiet, he then gave orders to have T'ao be- 
headed, but the man had fled; he subsequently fell a 
victim to the wrath of his companions, who killed him 
for his treachery. The General received high hereditary 
rank for his capture of Li and his treasure, but several of 
his men were slain by the woodcutters, who, after slaugh- 
tering them, made sacrifice to Li's spirit. Tseng Kuo-fan 
heard of their doing so and had them brought to his head- 
quarters. Boldly and frankly they confessed the truth. 
Tseng, who greatly admired the rebel leader, praised their 
loyalty and made them presents, which they reluctantly 
accepted. Chinese chroniclers deplore the fact that the 
names of these worthy woodcutters have not been recorded. 

The following story describing the manner in which the 

^ The Taipings discarded the tonsure in token of rebelhon against 
the Manchu dynasty. 

426 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Imperialists finally took Nanking, goes to show that there 
was love as well as war in the rebel capital. When the 
city was completely invested by Tseng Kuo-fan's forces, the 
key to the position lay at the " Islet of Nine Eddies," and 
there Hung Hsiu-ch'iian, the rebel king, had stationed a 
large force. As soon as the Imperialist forces had cap- 
tured this islet, Nanking was practically at their mercy. 
Tseng Kuo-fan is usually credited with this exploit, but 
the fact is that one of the rebels betrayed the secret of the 
distribution of their forces and this enabled the Imperialist 
attack to concentrate on the weakest spot. 

During the reign of the " Heavenly King " at Nanking, 
two civil service examinations were held, at the second 
of which a Kiangsi scholar named Pu Ying-ch'i was third 
on the list. He was an unusually handsome man and used 
to call himself a second Ch'en Ping, after a certain beau 
who played a prominent part in the foundation of the Han 
dynasty in the second century B.C. 

While the Palace examination was proceeding, the 
" Heavenly King's " younger sister, Hsuan Chiao, watched 
the candidates from behind a curtain, and was much taken 
with Pu's good looks. It was she who induced her brother 
to place him third on the list. When, in due course, he 
appeared at Court to return thanks, Hung said to him : 
" You ought really to thank the Divine Sister," and bade 
a eunuch take him to her presence. Pu knelt before her, 
and the Divine Sister held out her hand to him, saying : 
" We shall often meet, for I intend to secure you a good 
post at Court." 

A few days later he was made Chamberlain, and before 
long his relations with the Divine Sister became something 
more than brotherly. The Divine Sister had a husband, 
Li Shao-shen, who was greatly distressed, but feared to 
interfere in her intrigue. 

Now it happened that the " Prince of the East," Yang 
Hsin-ch'eng, like all the other rebel princes, maintained 

427 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

a staff of ladies who served him as majors domo, ushers, 
and in other capacities. One of these women, the daughter 
of a Hterary man, possessed great skill with her pen, and 
besides this was superior to the Divine Sister in the matter 
of good looks. She, too, became infatuated with the 
handsome Pu, and was for ever inviting him to her 
boudoir. As this liaison developed, the Divine Sister 
became exceedingly jealous, but had to endure it, as the 
" Heavenly King " could not afford to quarrel with the 
" Prince of the East." For a time Pu played the Don 
Juan with both fair ladies, but gradually became tired of 
their charms, and, realising that the Taipings were nearing 
the end of their tether, he decided to quit Nanking by 
stealth, and to try to return to his home in Kiangsi. 

In this attempt he was captured by General Fu Ssu's 
men and, hoping to save his life, said : "I have a secret 
to communicate." Ushered into the General's presence, 
he said : " The rebels depend on the Islet of Nine Eddies 
for their supplies ; for all their reinforcements come in by 
that route. This alone has enabled them to hold out so 
long. You will never take Nanking until you capture the 
islet. I have with me a plan, upon which you will see 
marked the disposition of their forces and the emplace- 
ments of their guns. One side is practically impregnable, 
but there is one Spot which is open to attack. Take them 
unawares from that side and you will capture the position 
as easily as spitting on your fingers. Once the islet is in 
your possession, their communications are cut and they 
will be like rats in a trap." 

The Imperialists acted on this information and Nanking 
fell. Pu Ying-ch'i was rewarded with a lieutenant- 
colonelcy, but Chinese chroniclers, who seem, as a class, 
disposed to sympathise with rebels of all kinds, condemn 
his action, unkindly observing of him that he served two 
dynasties, one in a civil, and the other in a militarj^ 
capacity. 

428 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE SORROWS OF HIS MAJESTY KUANG HSU 

The personality of His Majesty Kuang Hsii was 
always so overshadowed and dominated by that of the 
masterful Tzu Hsi, even during the years (1889-1898) 
when he was theoretically in control of the Government, 
that his individual abilities and aspirations had little 
scope to shape themselves to any good purpose ; and the 
dynastic annals, compiled under the direction of the 
" Old Buddha," treat him, generally speaking, as a 
negligible quantity. For although during her years of 
nominal retirement, Tzii Hsi divested herself of the out- 
ward symbols of supreme power, the Emperor himself 
and all his Court were well aware that the final arbiter 
of all important questions was still the autocrat who 
watched events from her retreat at the Summer Palace, 
whose confidential agents and partisans constituted the 
dominant party in the metropolitan and provincial 
Yamens. At no time did she surrender to the Emperor 
the fundamental authority to which the official world 
looked for rewards and punishments; in her hands re- 
mained the appointment to all high offices, by which means 
she created and strengthened ties of personal loyalty to 
herself. The Emperor on his Throne was a cipher in 
the inner councils of the State, which drew their inspira- 
tion from the fountain head of all favours; of far less 
account, in the estimation of the mandarinate, than the 
Chief Eunuch, Li Lien-ying. Except during the hundred 

429 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

days of Reform, which precipitated Tzii Hsi's coup d'etat 
in 1898 and her return to full and undisguised supremacy, 
the unfortunate monarch was never able to muster 
courage or supporters sufficient to enable him to assert 
himself. 

There were, it is true, occasions when he endeavoured to 
throw off the yoke and to claim rights of independent 
initiative, especially during the short time when he relied 
upon the influential support of Chang Yin-huan and the 
reform leaders at Peking; but his attempts were ever 
doomed to spend themselves in futility against the solid 
wall of vested interests and privileges with which the 
genius of Tzu Hsi had surrounded him. 

In January 1894, before the outbreak of war with 
Japan, His Majesty's mind was much exercised at the 
increasing demoralisation of the public service, brought 
about by the Chief Eunuch's shameless trafficking in 
Government appointments of all sorts. In this matter 
he felt sure of the sympathies of the best men in the 
public service, whose sense of decency was undoubtedly 
violated by the outrageous proceedings of Tzu Hsi's 
favourite, and whose interests were thereby imperilled. 
The literati generally and the bulk of conservative official- 
dom were becoming scandalised by the flagrant venality 
which sold offices without regard to the qualifications of 
the buyer, so that Kuang Hsii was emboldened to assert 
himself. The following instance of a case in which he did 
so, without evoking a display of the " Benevolent Mother's 
divine wrath," is instructive. 

When the Shanghai Taot'ai-ship fell vacant, on Nieh 
Ch'i-kuei's promotion to a judgeship, in January 1894, 
the Grand Councillors handed Kuang Hsii a list of the 
Taot'ais eligible for preferment and asked His Majesty 
to make a selection. The Emperor said nothing, but 
produced a slip of paper from his sleeve, on which was 
written the name " Lu Po-yang." With a frown he 

430 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

handed it to the Council, and told them to report as to 
the man's previous career and record. The Councillors 
retired and investigated their files, but found no such 
name on any of their lists. They reported accordingly, 
whereupon Kuang Hsii ordered that the Presidents 
of the Boards of Civil Office and Revenue be summoned, 
and instructed to examine into the matter. The Council- 
lors saw that the Emperor had received a hint from Tzu 
Hsi to appoint Lu Po-yang, whatever his record, so they 
tactfully replied : "If Your Majesty knows the man, it 
would be best to appoint him without further investi- 
gation. It is possible that his name is neither on the 
Board of Revenue's list nor on that of the Civil Office. 
And it would not look well to give him the post, after we 
had inquired and ascertained that he had no claims." 
Kuang Hsii sighed, and made the appointment. 

Not very long afterwards occurred the more flagrant 
case of Yii Ming. This man was a Manchu attached to 
the Imperial Household : he had never held any official 
post, was the head manager of a large firm of building 
contractors at Peking, and had purchased the brevet 
rank of Sub-prefect. The lucrative post of Taot-ai in 
charge of the Tea and Salt industries in Ssu-ch'uan fell 
vacant, and Yii Ming, under pressure from Tzii Hsi, was 
given the position. 

In due course he appeared before the Emperor in 
audience to return thanks. Kuang Hsii said to him : " In 
which of the Government Boards have you served?" 
He replied : " Your slave has always been attached to 
Kuang Shun." (Kuang Shun is the name of the very 
wealthy firm of contractors above referred to.) The 
Emperor did not understand him and repeated the 
question. Yii Ming replied : " Has Your Majesty never 
heard of the Kuang Shun firm? They are the biggest 
contractors in the West city. Your slave has been 
manager there for a long time." The Emperor smiled : 

431 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

" Oh ! I see : you mean that you have always been in 
trade. Well ! To be manager of a big firm of con- 
tractors is a highly lucrative post. Why do you want 
to exchange it for an official career? " The answer came 
glibly : " Because I have heard that the perquisites to 
be made out of this Tea and Salt Taot'ai-ship are worth 
at least ten times as much as I can make out of business." 

By this time Kuang Hsii was greatly incensed at the 
man's effrontery, but suppressed his wrath for the 
moment. " Can you write or speak Manchu ? " said he. 
" No, Your Majesty." " Can you write Chinese ? " Yii 
Ming hesitated for a long time and then stammered out : 
" Yes." The Emperor then threw some paper and a pencil 
on the ground and directed the eunuch in attendance to 
take Yii Ming outside. " Go and write out a statement 
of your official career on the steps outside the hall, where 
I can see you." 

After a very long interval Yii Ming re-entered the hall 
of audience and handed the paper to the Emperor. All 
he had written was : " Your slave, Yii Ming, Manchu of 
the striped Yellow Banner." The characters were the 
size of tea cups (etiquette requires that for presentation 
to the Throne they should be small and exquisitely formed 
in round hand). Yii Ming's writing sprawled all over 
the page, was hardly legible, and one of the two simple 
characters comprising his name was wrong. 

At this the Emperor flew into a passion : " You may 
keep your former brevet as Sub-prefect," he said, "and 
await your turn for promotion." (This meant that he 
was relegated from the high position of Taot'ai-elect to 
that of an expectant of low rank, who would most likely 
never get a position at all.) "I hereby appoint Chang 
Yuan-p'u to the post : let the Council report immedi- 
ately." Thus did Kuang Hsii for once defy Tzu Hsi. 

The chronicler relates that Yii Ming returned to his 
business as a contractor and, with the help of Li Lien- 

432 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

ying, made a great deal of money out of a contract for the 
building of a shrine in memory of Prince Ch'un, Kuang 
Hsii's father. Having " squeezed " large profits out of 
this lucrative work, he proceeded to bribe the eunuchs 
in the employ of the young Prince Ch'un (subsequently 
the Regent) to steal and sell to him jewels and curios 
from the Prince's residence. He was found out, and the 
Emperor ordered his arrest, but he contrived to escape by 
shaving his head and becoming a priest. He found shelter 
at a temple of the Western hills, and was well known to 
several foreigners there some years ago. Eventually he 
was ejected from the priesthood on account of a scandal 
in connection with a lady of high degree at Peking. As 
for Lu Po-yang, the Taot'ai-elect of Shanghai, the in- 
corruptible Nanking Viceroy, Liu K'un-yi, who knew of 
his disreputable antecedents, refused to allow him to take 
up the post, and impeached him on a charge of bribery. 
He was dismissed from office, and the 700,000 taels which 
he had paid to Li Lien-ying (to be divided between the 
eunuch and his Imperial mistress) were money wasted, 
for he never occupied the post. In disgust with public 
life, he too became a Taoist priest. So that Kuang Hsii's 
firm stand was justified by results, and Tzu Hsi gave no 
sign of disapproval. 

It is not to be supposed that his unfortunate Majesty 
was entirely without friends and counsellors : there were 
many at Court who hated, while they feared, the regime 
of the grasping Chief Eunuch and his imperious mistress. 
But her hand lay heavy upon them, and though the atmo- 
sphere of the metropolis does occasionally breed heroism 
in the orthodox mandarin, it is usually of the valedictory 
death-scene order rather than the kind which displays 
itself steadily in every- day routine. Those whose sym- 
pathies were with the Emperor, and those who regarded 
the Empress Dowager's continued usurpation of the 
supreme power as dangerous to the Empire, endeavoured 
FF 433 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

(timorously enough) to persuade the Old Buddha by 
constitutional procedure to relax something of iier firm 
grip upon State affairs. 

To give one instance. Early in 1896, when the Empress 
Dowager was en retraite at the Summer Palace, the 
Censor Wang P'eng-yiin put in a memorial of remon- 
strance against the Emperor's repeated visits to the 
Summer Palace to pay his respects to Tzii Hsi. He said : 
" These journeys to and fro waste most of the day and 
distract His Majesty's attention from State affairs. 
Every few days he leaves the Palace before dawn and does 
not return to Peking till dusk. Should the Emperor 
contract an illness from chill or fatigue, no one would be 
more sorry than the kindly Mother. I therefore venture 
to recommend that the Emperor should attend to his 
duties and not waste time in these ceremonial excursions." 
The real meaning of this memorial was that the Emperor 
was far too much under Tzu Hsi's control and afraid to 
take any important step without her approval; in other 
words, Wang desired to see Kuang Hsii emancipated from 
petticoat government. As it happened, the Old Buddha 
was at the time in one of her good-humoured and lenient 
moods; had she not been so, this memorial might well 
have cost the Censor dear. Only a month before, a 
eunuch named K'ou had been summarily beheaded for 
venturing to advise the Emperor to select his own staff 
of personal attendants, so as to avoid the constant espion- 
age of the Empress Dowager. Since then the Grand 
Council had gone in daily terror for fear that some Censor 
should denounce this execution or impeach the Old 
Buddha; when therefore, Wang P'eng-yiin's memorial 
reached them, they were much perturbed. Prince Kung 
and Li Hung-tsao discussed it anxiously. Li remarked : 
" Truly, we should be thoroughly ashamed of ourselves, 
when a small official ventures to speak out thus openly 
against the Old Buddha, while none of us have dared to 

434 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

criticise her in any way. Let us try, at least, to shield 
him from any serious consequences. When Your High- 
ness is received in audience by His Majesty, you must 
think of some way whereby the Emperor may pacify Her 
Majesty or else suppress the memorial." Prince Kung 
agreed, but observed that the suppression of the memorial 
would be difficult. When summoned to audience he 
handed up the memorial to Kuang Hsii, who after 
perusing it said : " Her Majesty will certainly demand his 
execution. What do you advise ? " Kung repeated what 
Li had said. " That's all very well," replied the Emperor, 
" but do you forget that K'ou was decapitated the other 
day for criticism far less outspoken?" Prince Kung 
answered : "A eunuch has no right to memorialise at all 
nor to interfere in affairs of State. In putting him to death 
Her Majesty was only acting in accordance with dynastic 
house-law. But a Censor is entitled to criticise without 
restriction and his person is — or should be — ^inviolable." 

Kuang Hsii sighed : " Do not think that I wish to 
restrict their criticisms, but you know how I stand. I 
fear that Her Sacred Majesty will be greatly incensed when 
she sees this document. Present it I must, for if I did 
not she would surely hear about it. I think that you had 
best discuss the situation again with Li Hung-tsao. At 
least you can stop the presentation of any further 
memorials of this kind." 

Prince Kung retired and, with Li's help, drafted a 
memorial in which the following passage occurred : " The 
Censor is greatly daring when he raises such questions, 
but his action is actuated by a misguided sense of loyalty 
and not by any radically evil propensities. We have 
carefully perused his memorial and find therein no treason- 
able matter nor anything derogatory to Your Majesty's 
beneficent virtue. We therefore implore Your Majesty 
to forgive him." Kuang Hsii then left for audience at 
the Summer Palace, taking the two memorials, which 

435 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

he submitted, meekly kneeling, to Tzu Hsi. The Old Bud- 
dha, who was in a particularly good temper that morning, 
read the documents and then said with a smile : " You 
seem dreadfully nervous about this effusion, but there is 
really not the slightest reason for you to fear that I should 
be displeased. I welcome criticism from the Censors : 
that is what they exist for." 

On returning to the Forbidden City, Kuang Hsii said 
to Prince Kung : " On this occasion Her Majesty has taken 
a lenient view, but I am sure that if the subject ever comes 
up again in a memorial, not only will its author be be- 
headed, but Wang, who now escapes, thanks to the Old 
Buddha's good humour, will also suffer death." 

Nevertheless Tzu Hsi took the hint which, after all, 
was reasonable enough, and thereafter required fewer visits 
from the Emperor, besides which she arranged matters 
so that he could get back to Peking at an earlier hour. 

At the time of the coup d^etat, many of the friends of 
the Reformers wondered how the Old Buddha had so 
swiftly possessed herself of all the details of K'ang Yu-wei's 
plot and the names of his confederates. The explanation 
is as follows : For some days before Tzii Hsi's coup 
d'etat the Emperor, realising the hostility of the reaction- 
aries to K'ang Yu-wei, had ceased from calling him to 
audience. Instead he made use of the reformer Lin Hsii, 
who transmitted messages to and from K'ang. He spoke 
with such a strong Fukhien accent that the Emperor had 
difficulty in following him, and therefore directed him to 
write down everything of importance and leave the 
memoranda with him for subsequent perusal. 

A week before the fatal 5th day of the 8th Moon, the 
Old Buddha suddenly came in, unannounced, from the 
Summer Palace to pay the Emperor a surprise visit, and 
see what he was about. It was only when she had 
actually reached the West Gate of the city that an out- 
rider was sent on ahead to inform the Emperor, so that 

436 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

he might hasten to the entrance of the Western Palace 
and welcome Her Majesty, as usual, on his knees. 

Kuang Hsii and Lin Hsii were discussing matters in the 
Palace of Heavenly Purity, when a eunuch rushed in and 
said : " The Old Buddha will be here in twenty minutes. 
I have ordered your chair for you to go and meet her." 
The Emperor hurriedly bade Lin Hsii gather up his papers 
and leave the Palace, while he himself proceeded to meet 
the Empress. Unfortunately Lin Hsii, in a great state 
of nervousness and fear, was so anxious to get away before 
the Empress's eunuchs should see him, that in his haste 
he accidentally dropped the most important of all his 
documents, one in which he had outlined the plan for 
surrounding the Summer Palace and seizing the person 
of Tzii Hsi. This paper was picked up by one of Li 
Lien-ying's henchmen and handed by the Chief Eunuch 
to Her Majesty. It was the death warrant of the 
Reformers. 

For the next two years, Kuang Hsii was virtually a 
prisoner and treated by the Old Buddha and Li Lien-ying 
with studied rudeness and neglect. He became afflicted 
with a deep, chronic melancholy, fully aware, during the 
period of his solitary confinement, that his life hung upon 
a thread, at the mercy of the Old Buddha's cold-blooded 
policies and vengeful moods. After the coup d'etat, Tzii 
Hsi used frequently to visit her wretched nephew in his 
lonely pavilion prison on the " Ocean Terrace," and 
would calmly announce to him the arrangements she 
proposed to make after his decease, which, as he well 
knew, was being planned with all due regard to precedent 
and decorum.^ Knowing his proudly sensitive nature, 
she would taunt him with the illegality of his succession 
to the Throne (her own doing) and declare that his reign 
would be recorded in the dynastic annals as an inter- 
regnum, as was done in the case of a similarly unfortunate 
^ Vide China under the Empress Dowager, p, 212. 
437 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

monarch, named Ching Tai, of the Ming dynasty (1450- 
1457). 

Kuang Hsii took a melancholy interest in the history 
of his prototype, on which he used to meditate for hours. 
There were indeed many curious features of resemblance 
between the Ming Emperor's destiny and his own. Ching 
Tai had been placed upon the Throne by command of 
the Empress Dowager of that day, in the place of his 
elder brother, who had been carried into captivity by the 
Mongols. He was treacherously murdered by eunuchs, 
whilst performing sacrifice. His reign was expunged from 
the dynastic annals (though eventually restored), and his 
body was buried, not in the Imperial mausolea to the 
north of Peking, but in a comparatively humble grave at 
a site adjoining the Summer Palace. 

After his release from solitary confinement, and when 
the Old Buddha's heart had been somewhat softened to- 
wards him by their common misfortunes after the flight 
from Peking in 1900, Kuang Hsii maintained his melan- 
choly devotion to the memory of Ching Tai. From a 
window of the Summer Palace he could see the grave of 
his luckless predecessor, and lamenting its neglected state, 
he persuaded one of his eunuchs to plant new pine trees 
about it and to* repair the pillars of the main hall of 
sacrifice. But he bade the eunuch take care that the 
Old Buddha should not know by whose orders these things 
were done. If she knew it was the Emperor's doing, she 
would, no doubt, be angry : if discovered, the eunuch 
was to say he was " acquiring merit " at his own expense, 
and Tzu Hsi would probably praise his virtuous conduct. 
But every one at Court knew of Kuang Hsii's pathetic 
interest in the fate of Ching Tai, so much so, that after 
his death in 1908, Chang Chih-tung cynically proposed to 
the Regent to give him the posthumous title of Ching 
(Illustrious) in commemoration of this interesting affinity. 

Towards the end of Kuang Hsii's mysterious and fatal 

438 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

illness, in November 1908, he suddenly displayed an 
unusual initiative and independence of mind. On the 
11th of November, two days before his death, he arose 
from his couch and expressed his intention of presenting 
himself at Tzu Hsi's bedside, to inquire after her health. 
The dynastic annals record his pious solicitude for Her 
Sacred Majesty, but the real incentive was probably his 
desire to verify for himself the fact that his relentless 
oppressor was mortally stricken. The effort, whatever 
its motive, was too much for him, and he collapsed after 
walking a few steps. His eunuchs carried him to a couch 
on the south side of his bedroom, from which he never 
rose again. 

On the 10th of November, when Dr. Chou was sum- 
moned to advise on the state of His Majesty's health, he 
was amazed at the evidences of neglect which he found 
in the mean equipment and general squalor of His 
Majesty's apartment. It was heated by means of one 
of the common white-clay stoves which are to be found 
in the poorest houses in North China, things that cost a 
few pence and emit noxious fumes of charcoal gas. His 
bedding was meagre and coarse, of the kind a shop 
apprentice might use. There were a few historical books 
by his bedside, but no ornaments or comforts of any 
kind; the yellow tablecloth was dirty and had evidently 
not been changed for months. When, after his death, 
his coffin was borne to the Western tombs, to be deposited 
in a temporary shelter pending the building of his mauso- 
leum, the articles which he had had in daily use were 
carried, as custom requires, in the funeral procession, and 
it was observed by the populace that they were no better 
than those of the ordinary shopkeeper's household. There 
was no money wasted on the Son of Heaven under the 
administration of the insolent Chief Eunuch, Li Lien-ying. 
From his death-bed, the Emperor addressed a last 
request to the Old Buddha, which showed how vividly 

439 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

the tragic events of 1900 had impressed themselves upon 
his mind, and how steadfastly he cherished the memory 
of the one woman who had cheered his unhappy life 
with affection and loyalty. This was the " Pearl Concu- 
bine," murdered by order of the Empress Dowager on the 
morning of the flight from the Palace, after the entry of 
the allied armies into Peking. The hand that sent this 
loyal soul to her doom was the hand of Li Lien-ying, who 
threw her into the well, but the man who had poisoned 
the Empress's mind against her, and who was therefore 
chiefly responsible for her death, was a eunuch named 
Tsui. This wretch had hurled stones down the well upon 
the victim of his malignant intrigues and had mocked the 
Emperor in his grief. Kuang Hsii had not forgotten or 
forgiven, and at the last he sought to be revenged on one 
who had added insults to the deadliest injuries. He asked 
the Old Buddha that the eunuch Tsui might be dismissed 
from the Palace and all his vast fortune confiscated. Even 
then, remembering Her Majesty's ultra-sensitiveness in 
matters where her supreme authority was concerned, he 
avoided all direct reference to tragic events of which, he 
believed, she had repented, and requested the eunuch's 
punishment on the ground that " he was planning treason 
against Her Majesty's person." His wish was granted 
(Tsui's fortune was probably an important factor in the 
decision), and on the day of Kuang Hsii's death, the eunuch 
was ignominiously driven from the Palace. 

Many were the slights and indignities placed upon the 
miserable monarch by these " rats and foxes " of the 
Palace, who seemed to delight in wounding his sensitive 
nature. Li Lien-ying invariably checked the Empress 
Dowager in any kind impulse of compassion towards him 
by representing the Emperor as persistently disrespectful 
to herself. 

When the Emperor was confined by the Old Buddha's 
orders at the Ocean Terrace, which was connected with 

440 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the rest of the Palace by a single drawbridge that spanned 
the surrounding narrow lake, he practically saw no one 
excepting the two or three eunuchs appointed to watch 
over him. Even his wife and other ladies of the Palace 
were seldom allowed to come near him, and the Old 
Buddha's occasional visits were hardly calculated to cheer 
him. His apartments were untidily kept and scantily 
furnished; even the bamboo screens were usually in 
tatters and the paper windows in holes. When the electric 
light was installed in the Palace only the Emperor's rooms 
were not connected. The Imperial Household officials 
took their cue from the Old Buddha, and knew better than 
to show concern for the Emperor's comfort. On one 
occasion, Kuang Hsii asked Chi Lu, a Chamberlain of the 
Household, to get him some new bamboo screens to replace 
his old ones which were dropping to pieces. Chi Lu did 
so. Next morning the eunuchs in attendance on Her 
Majesty took pleasure in informing him that the Old 
Buddha had been graciously pleased to present fine sable 
robes to all her other Chamberlains, whilst on him she 
had bestowed a foreign dog. This gentle hint, typical 
of Tzii Hsi's way of doing things, effectually checked any 
further attempts on the part of Chi Lu to make things 
easier or pleasanter for poor Kuang Hsii. It is only fair 
to say, however, that after the return from Hsian he was 
better served, and was eventually allowed to have his 
own attendants about him, and certain benefits from the 
Privy Purse. 



441 



CHAPTER XIX 

MEMOIRS OF THE BOXER YEAR (1900) 

The inner history of the Court of Peking during the 
height of the Boxer crisis and the siege of the Legations 
was fully narrated in the diary of His Excellency Ching 
Shan, published for the first time in China under the 
Empress Dowager in 1910. Since then, the observations 
of Europeans who went through that siege, and the 
criticisms of Chinese apologists on the subject, have 
confirmed the opinion that Ching Shan was not only well- 
informed but remarkably accurate in his record of those 
stirring days. Until the abdication of the Manchus, it 
was almost impossible to obtain authoritative evidence 
confirmatory of Ching Shan's sensational revelations. 
Tzu Hsi's successor as Empress Dowager, Her Majesty 
Lung Yii, by whose orders a special Chinese translation 
was made of China under the Empress Dowager, forbade 
the vernacular press from publishing any reference to a 
work which, naturally enough, she regarded as Use 
majeste of the worst description. Since the inauguration 
of the Republic, however, the writings, public and private, 
of many Chinese and Manchus have thrown no little light 
on the principal events of the reign of Tzu Hsi, and indeed 
on the history of the dynasty. Making all due allowance 
for the Oriental failing, common to most Chinese annalists, 
of believing and recording evil of those in high places, 
there is much in these fugitive papers which serves 
to amplify and to check our knowledge of important 
details. 

442 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

The most significant feature common to all these docu- 
ments lies in their tacit acceptance of the fact that a time 
of political chaos implies the wreaking of vengeance for 
private grudges by whichever party happens to he pos- 
sessed of the balance of power at any given moment. 
The Old Buddha's acceptance of the Boxers' programme 
of " driving the hated foreigner into the sea " was used 
by the leading Boxer politicians — Prince Tuan, Hsii 
T'ung and Kang Yi — not so much for the furtherance of 
that policy and the good of the State, as for the casti- 
gation of their personal enemies and rivals. Even when 
the allies were at the very gates of Peking, the thoughts 
of these men were directed less towards the defence of 
their city and their sovereign than towards revenge on 
their political opponents. The grim drama of human 
passions which was enacted around the Dragon Throne 
during those days of terror is made grimmer by the fact 
that those who describe it regard it as a matter of course, 
unconscious of all it implies in the history, past and 
future, of their country. 

Before dealing with some of the most noteworthy 
incidents in this drama, we may take from the diary of 
a Manchu official the following account of the vicious 
profligacy which characterised the Princes and nobles 
of the Imperial Clan long before they became leaders of 
the Boxer movement. The author heads his reminiscences : 
" Signs of a Decaying Dynasty." 

" It has ever been the case in Chinese history," he says, 
" that whenever a dynasty has lost its virility and ex- 
hausted the mandate of Heaven, its Princes and nobles, 
becoming effete and addicted to luxurious and unnatural 
vices, must be for ever seeking some new and strange way 
of gratifying their jaded appetites. In the years before 
the Boxer outbreak, the young Manchu aristocrats of 
Peking used to amuse themselves by dressing themselves 
as beggars and parading the streets in this guise. I 

443 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

cannot say who started this fashion, but it became quite 
the rage. Every young Prince would endeavour to sur- 
pass his fellows in a thoroughly realistic imitation of a true 
beggar's disguise. At first the craze was confined to the 
highest Manchus, but, as might be expected, it soon 
found imitators among the sons of Chinese in high places. 
Prominent amongst them were the grandsons of the 
powerful Board President, Pi Tung-ho. To-day this 
family is fallen upon evil days, and its fate is well deserved. 

" I remember particularly one occasion, during the dog- 
days of 1892. It was a very hot day, and some friends had 
invited me to join them in an excursion to the Kiosque 
and Garden known as ' Beautiful Autumn Hillock,' just 
outside the south-west gate of the Southern city. The 
place is also called the Brick Kiln Terrace; it consists 
of a hillock about forty feet high, on top of which there 
is a wide level space of about a quarter of an acre in extent. 
This spot is well shaded by tall willows and poplars, and 
in the middle there is a pond, where water-lilies and 
rushes grow. There are no houses about it, so the place 
is delightfully cool, and visitors can take their tea quietly 
at the open-air restaurant, while enjoying the pleasant and 
busy scene. Pedlars and wine- sellers come here to ply 
their trade, acrobajts and conjurors perform to earn a few 
cash from the idle rich, and there are strolling musicians. 
There are also sheltered nooks for the comfort of visitors, 
so that one might fancy oneself in the heart of the country. 

" At the table next us sat a young man of about eighteen : 
his face was as black as soot and he looked thin and ill- 
nourished. His queue was plaited round his head and he 
had inserted a bone hairpin in his hair, after the manner 
of the Peking hooligan class in summer time. He wore 
no socks and was stripped to the waist. His only garment 
was a very shabby pair of short trousers, which hardly 
reached to the knee, all covered with grease and mud, and 
badly torn : in fact, he was scarcely decent. He wore a 

444 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

pair of dilapidated grass slippers, through which his toes 
protruded. 

" Strange to say, this miserable-looking beggar had on 
his right thumb a large ring of green jade worth at least 
500 taels (say at that time £80) ; and he carried a beautiful 
and very costly carved fan with a jade handle. He sat, 
with legs crossed, on the ground, drinking wine. His 
conversation was full of vulgar oaths and the lowest 
Pekingese slang. I noticed, however, that the waiters 
showed him a very particular and eager attention and 
hardly ever left his side. To their other patrons their 
behaviour was very different, being somewhat offhand 
and brusque. I was lost in bewilderment at this spectacle, 
wondering what it meant, when the sun began to sink 
behind the western hills and the guests to leave. All of 
a sudden I observed the arrival of a smart official cart 
with red wheels set far back,^ and a train of some twenty 
well-groomed attendants. I then realised the truth and 
awaited developments with some curiosity. Two officials 
came up the hillock, both wearing the button of the third 
rank and peacock's feather. They were evidently officers 
of the bodyguard; one of them carried a hatbox and a 
bundle of clothes, while the other held a basin and ewer 
They approached the young beggar, and reverently ad- 
dressed him : ' Your Highness's carriage is ready. You 
have an engagement to dine at Prince Kung's palace to- 
night, and we ought to be starting.' So the young blood 
got up, took a towel and washed his face. We were all 
astonished at the transformation, and could scarcely 
suppress an exclamation of surprise. The dirty black 
of his face had been replaced by a delicate white com- 
plexion, and though thin, he had the distinctive features 
of the Manchu Princes. We perceived that he had daubed 
his face with charcoal. 

^ A type of vehicle which could only be used by persons of very 
high rank. 

445 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

"He then attired himself in his proper clothes, with 
the jewelled buttoned hat which Princes wear, decorated 
with the triple-eyed peacock's feather. The two officers 
humbly escorted him to his carriage ; he drove off and was 
soon lost to view. 

" The head waiter then whispered to me : ' That was 
the Beileh, Tsai Lien.' I replied in amazement : ' What 
does he mean by such behaviour?' 'Oh,' said he, 
' don't you know the latest craze of our young Princes 
in Peking ? ' He went on to tell me how Prince Chuang, 
Prince K'o, Prince Tuan, the Beilehs Lien and Ying, 
Prince Ch'ing's son Tsai Chen, the son of the Lieutenant 
General Ch'i Hsiu, Prince Chuang's sons, Huai-t'a-pu's 
boys, and many others, made a practice of adopting this 
guise, and were constantly causing disturbances in houses 
of ill fame, taverns, etc., and street rows, as the police 
were afraid to interfere with them. The Prince we saw 
was comparatively well behaved. 

" I was horrified to hear this, and said : ' This surely 
portends evil to our Empire. Such things occurred just 
before the Sungs were finally defeated by the Mongols 
and also at the close of the T'ang dynasty. History is 
full of such examples. Mark my words, China will be 
plunged in dire calamities before ten years have passed.' 

" My friends were all Manchus of the Imperial Household, 
in a position to learn much of the inner life of the Court, 
so I had no doubt as to the accuracy of their statements. 
My own opinion was confirmed in due course, for eight 
years later the Boxer outbreak occurred. Of the several 
Princes who had amused themselves by playing the 
beggar. Prince K'o was taken into custody by the foreign 
troops and set to work at burying the bodies of the dead : 
in his mortification he committed suicide. Huai-t'a-pu 
was forced by the Russians to clean out latrines : he 
complained to the officers that he was of high rank, but 
they only reviled him and flogged him with a whip; he 

446 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

did not dare to tell them of his near kinship with the 
Old Buddha, lest his Boxer proclivities should become 
known and a worse fate befall him. Eventually he also 
took poison and died. Ch'en Pi was forced to pull a rick- 
sha. Scions of the Imperial family, men who had never 
done a day's real work in their lives, fell to tramping the 
streets not as sham, but real, beggars. Prince Tuan and 
his brothers were either exiled or cashiered : Prince 
Chuang was permitted to commit suicide. Ch'i Hsiu 
perished by the sword of the executioner. The hero of 
our day's outing, the Beileh, Tsai Lien, lost his title and 
rank as the result of complicity in the Boxer rising, and is 
now living in greatly straightened circumstances. I 
wonder if those who still survive of that bright band of 
gay blades ever feel any impulse to play at wallowing in 
the dung-heaps of the city with outcasts and beggars ? 
Perhaps by now their jaded appetites are sated, and in 
their sober moments they may even brood sorrowfully 
over the piteous decline of their once proud Manchu 
dynasty." 

The following, also from a Manchu' s diary, explains how 
it came to pass that, after much vacillation and casting 
about for advice, the Old Buddha finally decided on 
defying the forces of the Western world. 

" At the critical moment when the Taku ports were 
taken (17th June, 1900) by the foreigners, the three high 
officials who led the war-party at Peking were Prince 
Tuan, Hsii T'ung and Kang yi. Prince Ch'ing might 
have voted against the Boxers had not Prince Tuan been 
watching him closely : whereat he was afraid. Chao 
Shu-ch'iao could never come to any definite opinion one 
way or the other. When the news reached Peking that 
the forts had been taken, the Old Buddha, sorely per- 
turbed, sent for each member of the Grand Council 
separately. Prince Ch'ing, though not on the Council, 
was first asked for his opinion. True to his crafty prin- 

447 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

ciples, he replied : ' Peace or war, each course presents 
its advantages, but it must be for Your Majesty to de- 
cide.' ' That is no answer to my question,' retorted the 
Old Buddha, ' you may go down from the Presence.' 
Jung Lu, the next to be summoned, implored Her Majesty 
to pause before taking action which would irrevocably end 
the Manchu dynasty. After being angrily rebuked by 
the Old Buddha, he gave place to Kang Yi, who advised 
war to the death. Chao Shu-ch'iao was then called in. 
The Old Buddha first told him exactly what the others 
had said and then observed : ' You have held many 
provincial posts ' (he had been a Prefect at Feng Yang in 
Anhui for many years), ' and have had direct experience 
of the conditions under which my people live. In this 
respect you should be able to gauge the situation better 
than either Kang Yi or Jung Lu, who have never held 
office as magistrates. I shall therefore decide in accord- 
ance with your judgment.' Chao had previously promised 
Jung Lu to vote against war, but realising that the Old 
Buddha was bent on hostilities, he hesitated and finally 
stammered out : ' I hear that the Foreign Powers are 
sending large armies to China ; I am afraid that a cam- 
paign is by no means certain to end in victory for our 
arms; nevertheless, a pacific policy presents obvious 
difficulties.' The Empress angrily interrupted him. 
' Are you for peace or war ? Make up your mind one 
way or the other and tell me.' Chao replied : 'Your 
Majesty might declare war to begin with, and then if we 
are defeated, it will not be too late to order a cessation 
of hostilities. Troops are pouring into Peking from the 
provinces to support Your Majesty; but even if we are 
completely defeated, the foreign armies will never venture 
to penetrate far into the interior.^ This last argument 
greatly impressed Tzu Hsi, who used it in her subsequent 
speech to the Ministers and Princes as a good reason, fox_ 
declaring war." 

448 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

When, under the Peace Protocol, Chao expiated his 
comparatively innocent part in the Boxer movement, the 
Decree in which Tzu Hsi recorded his sentence referred 
to his vacillation at audience ; but he was ever a favourite 
of hers and she did her utmost to protect him from the 
death penalty.^ 

Of the three men who chiefly influenced Tzii Hsi's mind 
and turned the wavering scales in favour of war, Prince 
Tuan, the swashbucklering fanatic, is less interesting as a 
type than Kang Yi and Hsii T'ung, whose hatred of 
foreigners followed naturally from their conception of the 
orthodox and patriotic official's duty to his country and 
himself. Hsii T'ung's hostility towards Europeans and 
all their ways was cold-blooded and uncompromising, but 
at least it had the merit of being unconcealed. He carried 
it, indeed, to an excess which made him notorious in 
Peking long before the Boxer outbreak ; for several years 
he made it a rule to leave his house (which was on Legation 
Street) by the side door leading to the wall rather than 
set foot on the foreigners' macadamised road. His son 
Hsii Ch'eng-yii, however, though by no means friendly to 
Europeans, was in the habit of taking foreign meals at 
the local hotel, and was on good terms with a certain 
foreigner who lived next door to the Grand Secretary's 
premises. It was through this European's kindly inter- 
vention that Hsii was able to escape from the besieged 
Legation quarter, and the Old Buddha fully intended to 
reward the foreigner for his friendly act. 

Hsii T'ung's quarters during the next two months were 
at the former residence of the Grand Secretary, Pao 
Yiin; he went to the Palace nearly every day and did 
more than any one, except Tuan and Kang, to persuade 
Her Majesty to place her trust in the Boxers. 

When the Court fled south, Hsii would have liked to 
follow Her Majesty, but a decree made him Peace Plenipo- 

^ Vide China under the Empress Dowager, p. 368. 
GO 449 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

tentiary. His son, Hsii Ch'eng-yu, then said to his father : 
" Your Excellency is now over eighty years of age. Your 
policy has been an utter failure. What are you waiting 
for, that you still cling to life? " The old man angrily 
rebuked him for this unfilial speech. The son retorted : 
" Father, you have been disloyal to the best interests of 
tJi£L.State._ A disloyal minister cannot complain if he has 
an^ unfilial son." (These words were used by Wu San- 
kuei to his father in 1644,^ when the latter submitted to 
the rebel Li Tzu-ch'eng, who proclaimed himself Emperor 
after overcoming and expelling the Mings.) The old man 
meekly replied: "Do then as you think best." With 
that, his son led him to a tree in the garden, hung a rope 
thereon and assisted the Grand Secretary to commit 
suicide. His action would have been meritorious, had 
he seen fit to die at the same time, but he clung to life, 
only to be beheaded five months later. 

When the Boxer madness was at its height, Hsii T'ung, 
who was nothing if he was not thorough, used to say to 
his friends : " Before we can hope to drive these foreigners 
into the sea, we must exterminate one Dragon, two tigers 
and thirteen sheep." The Dragon was the Emperor,- the 
tigers were Jung Lu and Li Hung-chang, and the sheep 
were the Yangtsze Viceroys, Prince Ch'ing, Yuan Shih- 
k'ai, Wang Wen-shao and the other moderates_at^eking 
and the provincial capitals. 

Yii Hsien, the " butcher " Governor of Shansi, on the 
black list of the Allies, was first sentenced to banishment 
by Tzu Hsi, and had proceeded on his way as far as Lan 
Chou in Kansuh, when Her Majesty's decree — reluctantly 
issued under pressure — reached Sung Fan, the Viceroy, 
whereby Yii Hsien was sentenced to decapitation. Sung 
Fan was an old friend of Yii Hsien, and the day before 
the arrival of this decree had invited him to a banquet. 
While the feast was actually proceeding, the order from 

^ Vide supra, p. 126. 
450 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

the Old Buddha was brought to the Viceroy, requiring 
Yii's immediate decapitation. Sung Fan read it, changed 
countenance and hurriedly concealed the document. Yii 
asked permission to see it, and on being refused, angrily 
put down his chopsticks and announced his departure. 
Sung, seeing no help for it, let him see the decree. In 
response to his friend's expression of grief, Yii smilingly 
said : " It is the fortune of war. I am a soldier and know 
that you must obey orders. The Sovereign commands, 
what can a Minister do but comply ? Our feast, however, 
is a private matter; my decapitation is your public 
duty. Let us first conclude the banquet and speak of 
other things." Yii then drank most immoderately, took 
leave of his friend and spent the rest of the day quietly. 
Next morning the Viceroy sent his guard to convey him 
to the place of execution, which had been hung with 
red silk, and sorrowfully witnessed the beheading of his 
friend. 

Kang Yi, after Hsii T'ung the most determined fire- 
eater of the war party, was an ignorant and illiterate bigot, 
a great believer in magic and spells. His belief in the 
Boxers was the natural outcome of his puerile super- 
stition; his favourite literature was the well-known 
magical romance, Feng Shen Ch'uan, a collection of fan- 
tastic legends which his secretaries had to read aloud to 
him almost daily. When serving on the Grand Council 
he was wont to say that though possibly there really 
were in Europe as many nations as Russia, England, 
Germany and France, all the rest of the countries of which 
foreigners spoke — Sweden, Holland, Austria and Spain — 
were surely nothing but lying inventions, intended to 
intimidate China. 

On one occasion, in 1894, on coming up to Peking from 
Canton, where he had been Governor, he recommended 
one of his aides-de-camp for a high post. Kuang Hsii 
asked what were the nominee's qualifications. Kang Yi 

451 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

replied : " He is my Huang T'ien-pa." ^ Huang T'ien-pa 
had been the right-hand man of a certain magistrate in 
K'ang Hsi's reign, and is a legendary hero renowned for 
his bravery. Kuang Hsti perceived the allusion, but he 
only smiled slightly, for he knew that Kang's knowledge 
of history was derived from plays and ghost stories. 

Looking back on the Boxer movement, and dispassion- 
ately considering its genesis and leadership, the childish- 
ness of its impulses and ambitions assumes a pathetic 
aspect, and, viewed in this light, the penalties imposed 
on China by the European powers appear to have been 
lacking in sympathetic recognition of many fundamental 
facts. One of the chief Boxer leaders, for instance,., one 
of those who misled thousands of comparatively innoegQt 
human beings to their jdoom, was a woman, ori^nally a 
low-class courtesan of Tientsin, who was known as. " The 
Yellow Lotus Holy Mother." In the eyes of her super- 
stitious followers, this woman became an Oriental Jeajuie 
D'Arc. When the Boxer movement was in fufl swing, 
any one suspected of being friendly to foreigners was 
taken before her, and sentenced to death, or set at liberty, 
according to her decision. Li Hung-chang's eldest son, 
Li Chang- shu, who was in Tientsin at the time, was 
arrested by the Boxers and brought before the " Yellow 
Lotus." The " Holy Mother " bade him kneel, and then 
smiled graciously upon him. One of his attendants, who 
was intimate with a Boxer chief, purchased his release — 
for the " Yellow Lotus " had an eye to business. 

The Viceroy, Yii Lu, invited her to his yamen and 
begged her to predict the result of the movement. At 
her coming he knelt in Court robes to receive her outside 
the main tribunal and made obeisance to her. He said : 
" The foreigners are near at hand. Have mercy and 

^ A well-known theatrical personage : it is not etiquette to cite 
heroes of the stage at an Imperial audience, least of all to compare 
one of them with an official. 

452 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

deliver us from them by your magic power." She re- 
pHed : "I have already arranged for an angelic host to 
destroy them with fire from Heaven. You need not be 
alarmed." She was eventually arrested and decapitated 
by order of Li Hung-chang. 

The point of view of the man in the street, the humble, 
plunderable private citizen, was of little account in those 
days, when the great ones staked the destinies of the 
Empire on a single desperate throw. What the man in 
the street felt is fairly described in the following reminis- 
cence of the crisis, penned at the time, by a Kiangsu man 
resident in Peking, styled Heng Yi. 

" In the 26th year of Kuang Hsii," he wrote, " my 
house was at the western end of San T'iao lane, not four 
hundred yards from the Legations. After the murder of 
the German Minister on the 24th of the 5th Moon, the 
ruffian soldiery of Tung Fu-hsiang entered and sacked 
nearly every house in my neighbourhood. All through 
the 24th and 25th I could hear the shrieks of the women 
and children, whom they were butchering, and their 
shouts, in the Kansu dialect, ' Bring out the Erh Mao 
Tzu ! ' 1 On the 26th (June 22nd) a Manchu Censor 
impeached them to the Throne, and the Old Buddha sent 
for their General, Tung Fu-hsiang, and bade him make 
an example of the culprits. Accordingly, on the evening 
of that day, twenty soldiers were beheaded just at the 
entrance to my lane. 

*' Even this exemplary punishment did not abate their 
fury, for next day another large contingent started looting 
again, and in due course approached my house. My 
cousin ordered the gate man to draw the bars across the 
main gate, but I begged him to do nothing of the sort. 
' Our only hope to escape being massacred is to parley 
with them.' My cousin agreed, so we collected the whole 

^ " Secondary Devils " — the term vised to describe Chinese Christians. 

453 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

of the family in one of the main rooms, and told them not 
to get excited or scream. I had scarcely mustered them 
when nineteen of the Kansu braves came rushing in. 
Their swords and clothes were still dripping with blood, 
as if they had come from a shambles. I went forward 
to meet them, saying politely : ' I know what you have 
come for : you are looking for secondary devils. How- 
ever, none of us have " eaten " the foreign religion. You 
will see that we have an altar to the kitchen god in our 
back premises. The whole of our family is now here; 
will you not take a look through the house to see if there 
are any Christians in hiding ? ' I meant by this to imply 
that we should offer no opposition to their looting what- 
soever they pleased. I also called a servant to prepare 
tea. Our guests received these overtures pleasantly 
enough, and after a few minutes of energetic looting they 
returned to my guest room, and some of them sat down 
to take tea. One of them remarked : ' You seem to be 
thoroughly respectable people : what a pity that you 
should reside near this nest of foreign converts and spies.' 
After a brief stay they thanked us poUtely, apologising 
for the intrusion, and retired with their booty. It was 
then about 2 p.m. We lost about $4,000 worth of valu- 
ables. Shortly afterwards, flames were bursting from our 
neighbour's premises, so I made up my mind to remove 
my family to a friend's house in the north of the city. 
In spite of these deeds of violence, even intelligent people 
still believed that the Kansu soldiery were a tower of 
defence for China, and would be more than able to repel 
any number of foreign troops. A friend of mine reckoned 
that 250,000 persons lost their lives in Peking that summer. 
I used to revile the Boxers in the family circle so much that 
my own kinsmen, who sympathised with them, would 
call me an ' Erh Mao Tzu,' and my cousin, fearing that 
the Boxers would murder me, induced me one day to 
kotow before one of their altars in the Nai Tzu-fu. To 

454 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

this day I have regretted my weakness in thus bowing the 
knee." 

Five high officials fell victims to the malignant passions 
and private enmity of the war party during the height of 
the crisis, while the Allies were advancing upon Peking. 
Of these, two were executed by the orders of the Old 
Buddha — Yiian Ch'ang and Hsii Ching-ch'eng — for having 
tried to protect foreigners.^ The other three, Li Shan, 
Hsii Yung-yi and Lien Shan, were hurriedly sent to their 
death by Prince Tuan.^ The death of Hsii Ching-ch'eng, 
a very brave and courtly gentleman, has been well de- 
scribed by an anonymous writer, in a memoir entitled, 
Reminiscences of a Time of Suspicion and Panic,^ as 
follows : 

" A certain old scholar of Chekiang had been a close 
friend to Hsii Ching-ch'eng in the days before Hsii had 
attained to official rank. He accompanied him on his 
first mission to Europe, and from that time never left him 
till the day of his death. This gentleman relates that 
on the day of Hsii Ching-ch'eng's arrest, all was quiet in 
Hsii's house and there were no particularly alarming 
rumours. After the midday meal they were sitting talk- 
ing in the library, Hsii having ordered his carriage to go 
to the Tsungli-yamen. He had just put on his official 
robes, when the gate-keeper came in with a card to an- 
nounce a visitor. The name was not familiar to Hsii, 
who told the gate-keeper to make his excuses, explaining 

1 Vide China under the Empress Dowager, p. 294. 

2 The diarist, Ching Shan, declares that this was done without the 
knowledge of the Old Buddha, but, on the face of it, this is difficult to 
believe. It is most probable that, without premeditation, she allowed 
it to be done in one of her violent fits of rage, and was sorry for it 
immediately afterwards. 

3 Literally : " monkey-like suspicions and panic at the cry of a 
bird." 

455 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

that he had an appointment at the Yamen and no time 
to spare. The gate-keeper went out but came back at 
once, to say that the visitor was a mihtary official em- 
ployed at the Yamen, and that his orders from Prince 
Ch'ing were to invite Hsii's immediate attendance : Prince 
Ch'ing and Prince Tuan were both at the Yamen already, 
and there was most important business on hand. Hsii 
thereupon went out and saw the man. On returning, he 
said to his friend : ' When we left the Yamen yesterday 
I heard nothing of any important business. I wonder 
why both Princes are attending there to-day ? ' To this 
his friend replied : ' No doubt something has happened. 
I shall go now into the Southern city to get the latest 
news.' The friend then went out, but immediately re- 
turned to say : ' That officer who came to fetch you is 
still waiting outside, close by the gate. He seems greatly 
excited; it all looks very suspicious. Besides, I know all 
the Yamen official messengers by sight, and I never saw 
this man before. I advise you, as a precaution, to take 
a larger suite with you than usual, and be sure to send back 
a messenger with a report.' 

" Hsii smilingly ignored his friend's remarks, entered his 
carriage and drove as far as the end of the lane, where he 
observed several runners from the Yamen of the Metro- 
politan Gendarmerie standing about. Upon a sign from 
the officer, they all formed a bodj^guard round Hsii's 
carriage. Instead of proceeding towards the Tsungli- 
yamen they turned northwards, and when Hsii asked 
the reason for this he was told that to-day's meeting 
would be held in the Yamen of Gendarmerie. On arriving 
there, the officer came forward and assisted Hsii to alight. 
He then ordered Hsii's attendants to go home : ' You 
are not wanted here,' said he; ' His Excellency will have 
other men to wait upon him inside.' Hsii was rapidly con- 
ducted to a small room, the door was bolted and he was 
left alone. He could hear sounds of lamentation pro- 

456 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

ceeding from some one in the next room. This turned 
out to be Yuan Ch'ang, but the two were not allowed to 
meet. 

" Meantime Hsii's suite returned home, and his friend 
was greatly alarmed at this report. He hurried off to 
Wang Wen-shao (his fellow provincial) to find out what 
was afoot, and to beg him to save Hsii's life. Wang pro- 
fessed amazement : ' I have only just come from the 
Council,' he said, ' and to my knowledge Her Majesty 
issued no decree. Your story seems incredible.' 

" Hsii's friend took his leave and spent most of the night 
in trying to find some means of succouring him; it was 
not till 3 a.m. that he heard definitely that both he and 
Yiian had been sent to the Board of Punishments. Early 
that morning he received a private note from a secretary 
of the Board to tell him that the heads of the Ministry 
had just come out from the great hall of Council, and that 
orders had been given for a supply of red yarn to be got 
ready, from which he knew that the execution of the two 
prisoners had been decreed, because an ancient custom 
requires that when a high official is to be beheaded, his 
face must be enveloped in red cloth. 

" On receipt of this note Hsii's friend set off to visit Wang 
Wen-shao to intercede once more for Hsii's life, but he 
had only just started when he received a message saying 
that the cart conveying the condemned had already left 
the Board of Punishments. He hurried off to the exe- 
cution ground outside the city, but on reaching it he 
found that the two officials were already dead, and that 
Hsii Ch'eng-yii (son of Hsii T'ung) was on his way to the 
Palace to inform Her Majesty of the due execution of her 
orders." 

As regards the death of Li Shan, the same writer observes 
that it is not correct to suppose that it was due to the 
Boxers' coveting his vast wealth. The real reason lay in a 

457 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

long-standing feud between him and Duke Tsai Lan, who 
was really responsible for his execution. Some years 
before, a well-known singing girl named " Green Monkey " 
was all the rage among the fashionable elite of Peking. 
Both Tsai Lan and Li Shan had had relations with her, and 
each wished to secure her for himself, because her beauty 
made her worthy in their eyes " of having a golden house 
built for her abode." At that time, however, Duke Lan 
had no official position and was in poor circumstances 
financially, so Li Shan succeeded in carrying off the 
" Green Monkey." For this Tsai Lan cherished a bitter 
grudge against him, which the Boxer rising gave him an 
opportunity to pay off. 

As for the Chancellor of the Grand Secretariat, Lien 
Yiian, executed at the same time by order of Prince Tuan, 
he had put in a memorial urging that the bombardment 
of the Legations should cease. He was just emerging 
from the Palace when he met Ch'ung Li, ex-commandant 
of the Gendarmerie, just outside the gate of Brilliant 
Fortune. With an exclamation of surprise Ch'ung Li 
said : " What brings you to the Palace at this early 
hour ? " (It was not yet dawn ; Lien had had to attend 
early in order to present his memorial.) Lien told him 
the reason. Ch'ung angrily replied: "Indeed! Have 
you Jorgotten your Manchu birth that you behave .UkfiL 
^ne, of these Chinese traitors ? " 

Lien refused to admit that he was in the wrong, and 
angrily turned on his heel. Ch'ung Li was furious, and 
reported to Prince Tuan. A few days later Lien met his 
fate at the " Western Market." Just before his head 
fell, a Boxer leader in full uniform came riding up at a 
hand gallop, dragging behind him something which was so 
completely covered with dust and mud as to be quite un- 
recognisable. It was not until the rider had pulled up 
his horse at the execution ground, that the bystanders 
perceived it was a man bound hand and foot. The features 

458 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

were mutilated beyond recognition, but on inquiry of the 
runners they learned that it was Li Shan. 

The fate of the third victim, Hsii Yung-yi, was the 
hardest of all. A native of Chfekiang, he began his career 
as a small official in the Board of Revenue, obtained by 
examination a post as clerk on the Grand Council, and 
finally, after nearly fifty years of official life, rose to be 
Board President. He was circumspect and careful by 
nature, an advocate of compromise in State affairs, honest 
and incorruptible, resembling the late Duke of Devonshire 
in his slow and weighty mode of speech. His death was a 
surprise to every one, because few knew that he had an 
enemy. Tzii Hsi always liked him, and subsequently 
declared that his execution was none of her doing. 

Be this as it may, the man really responsible for his 
undoing was Hsii T'ung, who had long cherished a secret 
grudge against him, because of an apparently trivial in- 
cident in connection with an Examination Commission 
on which both men were engaged. On that occasion a 
candidate, protege of the Grand Secretary, had been 
'* ploughed " as the result of Hsii Yung-yi having de- 
tected an error in caligraphy, which had escaped the notice 
of the other examiners. Hsii T'ung's mind was of the 
type which cannot forget or forgive loss of " face." 

After the death of Li Shan and Lien Yuan, Prince Tuan, 
Duke Lan and Kang Yi were by no means sated of their 
blood lust, and proposed to make a wholesale proscription 
of their opponents, including, if possible, Jung Lu. Liao 
Shou-keng, ex-President of the Board of Ceremonies (a 
native of Kiangsu) had been removed from the Grand 
Council some months previously, and had resigned from 
the Tsungli-yamen in June, 1910, but Kang and Tuan 
both had long-standing grudges against him. They fixed 
on the 22nd of the 7th Moon (i. e, August 16th) for the 
execution of Liao and several others, Liao being the first 
on their list of victims. They made no secret of their 

459 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

intentions, which were known all over the metropolis. 
Liao Shou-keng had sent his family home to the South, 
and was living at that time in a small temple outside the 
Tung-hua Gate. On hearing the news he was much 
alarmed, and implored a kinsman of his, an ex- Viceroy, 
to persuade Jung Lu to save his life. Jung Lu promised 
to do what he could, but next day he reported that all 
his efforts had been in vain. At audience that morning 
he had kotowed time and again to the Old Buddha im- 
ploring her to save Liao's life, but Her Majesty had re- 
fused to change her decision, and no appeal could move her. 
He therefore advised that Liao should commit suicide. 

The message was duly delivered to Liao, but he could 
not make up his mind to act upon it. Herein he was 
wise, for on the 21st, one day before the date fixed for his 
execution, Peking fell, and thus he escaped. He left 
immediately for his home in the South, where he died 
not long after. The priest at the temple where he lived 
said afterwards that when Liao heard the news of his 
sentence, he wandered round and round the courtyard 
like a man in a frenzy, and hardly stood still a moment 
for several hours on end. He took no nourishment and 
Avas as pale as a corpse. 

It is not generally known that Wang Wen-shao himself 
had a very narrow escape at that time. After the five 
officials above-named had been put to death, Duke Lan 
put in a memorial concerning the bombardment of the 
Legations. To this there was a supplementary memoran- 
dum attached, containing these words : " Most of the pro- 
foreign traitors have been put to death, and Your Majesty's 
Court is purged of their odious miasma. One man, how- 
ever, still remains to pollute your presence. That man is 
Wang Wen-shao. Unless the weed be plucked up by the 
roots, disaster will ensue. I beseech Your Majesty to have 
him beheaded, so that Your Court may be thoroughly 
purified of traitors." 

460 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

The memorial duly reached the Grand Council for 
presentation. Jung Lu opened and perused it. He 
said nothing to his colleagues, but hid the supplementary 
memorandum in his sleeve. He handed the memorial 
itself to Wang Wen-shao, who read it through, and then 
said to his colleague : "I understood that Duke Lan 
was putting in a supplementary memorandum as well. 
Where is it ? " Jung Lu quietly replied : " Oh ! probably 
it has been retained by Her Majesty, and will not be 
issued." 

A few minutes later, the Councillors were all summoned 
to audience. After transacting routine business, Jung 
Lu took out the supplementary memorandum from his 
sleeve, saying : " This memorandum of Tsai Lan is really 
an abominable insult to Your Majesty's intelligence. 
Will Your Majesty be pleased to issue a rescript of severe 
censure ? " 

The Old Buddha glanced over the document, and the 
" benevolent countenance " grew black as thunder. She 
muttered to herself and sat with knit brows, her face 
wearing an expression which, as Jung Lu knew well, boded 
evil to the victim of her impending wrath. At last, she 
said sternly : " Will you guarantee that this man is 
innocent of all treasonable designs ? " Jung Lu kotowed. 
" Although every man in Your Majesty's Court were a 
traitor and were plotting against Your Majesty, yet I. 
would stake my life on this man's unswerving fidelity. I, 
your slave, will pledge the Grand Secretary's loyalty, as 
long as breath remains in my body. If I had a hundred 
voices I would proclaim it with every one, even though 
my head should fall under the headsman's sword for my 
temerity." The Old Buddha still hesitated, with an 
inscrutable look on her face and a demeanour of enforced 
calm. At last she said in a voice of deep warning : "So 
be it, then. I place this man under your charge, and if 
I find that your words are false and that he has been 

461 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

conspiring against me, both of you shall suffer the same 
penalty." Jung Lu again prostrated himself and thanked 
Her Majesty for her gracious kindness. The victory was 
won. He and his colleagues then took their leave. 

Now, Wang Wen-shao was very deaf, and all this time 
had been kneeling at some distance from the Throne. He 
had no idea what the Old Buddha was saying to Jung Lu. 
Afterwards Jung Lu told his friends the story, remarking : 
" While I was pleading for Wang's life and the Old 
Buddha looked wrathfully in his direction, speaking in 
such a tone that Prince Li and I both trembled and turned 
deadly pale, while Kang Yi sneered at us, there was old 
Wang, looking perfectly happy and self-possessed, without 
the least idea of what was going on." To the day of his 
death Wang never knew of his escape, and would often 
ask Jung Lu what the Old Buddha was saying to him on 
that fateful morning of August 1900. 

Finally, from notes written a month after the relief of 
the Legations, by one who signs himself " An Imperial 
Clansman," we take the following pathetic description 
of the death of Lien Yuan's son-in-law, Shou Fu, who with 
all his household committed suicide upon the entry of the 
Allies, fearing insult and outrage at their hands. Shou 
Fu was of a type not uncommon amongst the Reformers 
(of whom he was one) — earnest, honest and impulsive, 
but not very wise or well-informed. A blind impulse, 
born of ignorance, wiped out all his family ; such tragedies 
were common, however, during those days of battle, 
murder and sudden death. For that matter they are 
common enough in China at this time of writing. 

" At the beginning of the Boxer crisis Shou Fu was greatly 
concerned as to the state of affairs at the Palace. He 
sought everywhere to obtain accurate information, and in 
the end came to the conclusion that the Old Buddha's 
belief in the Boxers would bring ruin upon the State, and 
end the Manchu rule. To his family he expressed the 

462 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

opinion that the only hope of saving the situation would 
be to get the Emperor out of the hands of Tzu Hsi and Li 
Lien-ying — ' a position of dire peril ' — and let him then 
arrange matters with the Allies. 

" When Prince Tuan and his confederates had won the 
ear of the Old Buddha, one of Shou Fu's friends implored 
him to leave Peking, but he sadly refused. He was then 
urged to allow his younger brother, Chang Fu, to take his 
wife and children to his villa in the country, but again 
he refused, saying : ' When the skin has perished, where 
shall the hair grow? When everything is in such dire 
confusion, why worry about individual misfortunes ? ' 
His brother Chang Fu agreed, saying that he also had 
lost all desire to live. 

" Shou Fu's father-in-law. Lien Yiian, Chancellor of the 
Grand Secretariat, was a well-known authority on the 
philosophy of Chu Hsi. In 1898, while holding office in 
Hupei province, he heard that Shou Fu was a supporter 
of the Reform movement, and wrote him a very angry 
letter. After the interchange of some heated corre- 
spondence, all relations ceased for a time between the 
two men. Subsequently, when Lien Yiian came to hold 
office in Peking, he realised that his son-in-law's endorse- 
ment of the Reform movement arose from sincere patriot- 
ism and not from any love of new and strange ideas. 
When, in June, the crisis became acute. Lien Yiian was 
received in audience with the rest of the chief officials. 
There, in the audience hall, he wept aloud, and addressed 
a most vigorous remonstrance to the Empress Dowager, 
telling her that by the laws of nations, the persons of 
envoys are sacrosanct. At this Prince Tuan stepped out 
from his place at the head of the Princes, and angrily 
exclaimed : ' Lien Yiian deserves to lose his head.' 
Luckily for Lien, the Old Buddha made no sign, but con- 
tinued to listen, apparently unmoved, while he finished 
his discourse. When he had done, all she said was : ' I 

463 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

am perfectly well aware of all you tell me, and I find 
these long-winded harangues very wearisome.' But Shou 
Fu rightly foresaw that his father would not escape the 
vengeance of Prince Tuan for thus openly defying him. 

" Shou Fu's family moved to Lien's house four days after 
the latter's execution, i. e. on August 14th. From that day 
communications were interrupted, between various parts 
of the city, by the coming of the allied armies. On the 
17th of August detachments of foreign troops had been 
seen in the West city, but it was rumoured that all who 
hung out the white flag would have their lives spared. 
Nevertheless Shou Fu and his brother proceeded to poison 
themselves with opium. Their unmarried sister, aged 
thirty-two, then swallowed some of the drug, and made 
her little sister, aged eight, do the same. Her slave girl 
named Sa'Erh, stimulated to heroism by her mistress's 
shining example, vowed that she too would give up her 
life. By this time, the foreign soldiers had entered the 
adjoining courtyard. Shou Fu was afraid, as the drug 
worked slowly, that death would not come in time to 
save them from insult by the troops, so he led them all 
into a room on the west side of the court. There he 
mounted the brick platform and hanged himself to the 
rafters; but he being very stout, the rope gave way, and 
he fell with a crash' to the ground. His brother Chang Fu 
raised him and hurriedly assisted him to climb up again 
and to adjust the rope securely, and this time he succeeded 
in hanging himself. 

" Chang Fu then quietly made ready the ropes for his 
sisters and the little maid. When he had done so, there 
was no more rope left, so he hurried out and found a piece 
of thin cord in an outhouse. With this he returned to the 
western room, opened the door and hanged himself to the 
rafter just inside, thus blocking the entrance. It was 
then ten o'clock in the morning of the 23rd day of the 
7th Moon. Shou Fu's age was thirty-six, and his brother's 

464 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

thirty- two. Their wives were forcibly prevented by 
Lien's family from committing suicide, as they too wished 
to do. 

" Later, when the foreign soldiers had left the house, the 
servants had to cut down Chang Fu's body before they 
could get into the western room. The five bodies were 
reverently laid out in the main hall, but the family had no 
money wherewith to bury them decently. A kind neigh- 
bour, named Fu, made them a present of a hundred taels, 
and with this they bought five coffins. The remains were 
taken to the garden at the back and there temporarily 
interred. 

" Ever smce the Japanese war," concludes the 
chroniclerj " Shou Fu had realised that only by reform 
could China be saved from ruin. No doubt he would 
h^^Ye preferred to serve his country by living to work for 
itj_rather than by dying for it; nevertheless his heroic 
resohition must have afforded no small satisfaction to 
the_^oul in Heaven of „his ancestor, Nurhachi, as well as 
serving to show his enemies how a true patriot can dijg ! " 



HH 465 



CHAPTER XX 
CONCERNING THE OLD BUDDHA 

Readers of China Under the Empress Dowager may 
remember that, in summing up the character of that 
remarkable woman, we drew attention to the fact that 
up to the time of her death, despite the mass of material 
existing in the diaries and archives of metropolitan 
officials and the personal reminiscences of those who knew 
her well, nothing of any human interest or value had been 
published in China concerning her life and times. The 
work issued by " Wen Ching," from the safe asylum 
of a British Colony, was so obviously distorted by hatred 
of the Manchus and so recklessly inaccurate on matters 
of verifiable detail, as to be useless. The diary of Ching 
Shan afforded for the first time authoritative evidence 
of the opinion in which Tzii Hsi was held by those most 
competent to jildge of her faults and virtues. Regarded 
in the light of that evidence, which has undoubtedly 
been confirmed by popular verdict, the Empress Dowager 
" despite her swift changing and uncontrolled moods, 
her childish lack of moral sense, her unscrupulous love 
of power, her fierce passions and revenges, was no more 
the fierce monster described by ' Wen Ching ' than she 
was the benevolent, fashion-plate Lady Bountiful of 
the American Magazines." ^ 

In discussing the early life of Tzu Hsi, and the crimes 
with which her contemporaries and posterity have charged 
^ China under the Empress Dowager, p. 478. 
466 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

her, we laid stress on the fact that she hved her hfe 
according to her hghts and in strict accordance with the 
traditions of her race and caste. Her own mistress, 
and virtual ruler of the Empire at the age of twenty-four, 
with none to teach her to control either her moods or 
her passions, how could she learn to cleanse the For- 
bidden City of its barbaric cruelties and corruption? 
Remembering the utterly unscrupulous falsehood of the 
charges with which Chinese political opponents habitually 
assail each other, and making due allowance for Tzii 
Hsi's environment in a city of " infantile gaiety and sudden 
tragedy, of flashing fortunes and swift dooms," we held, 
and hold, that she was entitled to the benefit of many 
doubts. 

Nevertheless, and making all these allowances, the fact 
has ever been indisputable that the licentiousness and 
wicked extravagance with which Tzu Hsi's name was 
universally associated during the minority of her 
son T'ung Chih, created widespread feelings of resent- 
ment and disgust amongst the better class of Chinese 
officials. These feelings bore fruit at several important 
crises of her career, and undoubtedly contributed in the 
end to inspire the Western- educated Cantonese party 
with the revolutionary ideas which led to the overthrow 
of the dynasty. .In 1898, for instance, one of the 
memorials submitted by the Reformer, Yang Jui, to His 
Majesty Kuang Hsii, advocating the seizure and im- 
prisonment of the Empress Dowager, denounced her 
gross immorality and accused her of illicit relations 
with several notable persons, one of whom was Jung Lu. 
It compared the crimes and orgies of her Summer Palace 
with those committed under the infamous concubine, 
Ta Chi, of the Shang dynasty, and referred to her vicious 
practices as matters of common and undisputed know- 
ledge. This, indeed, has generally been the attitude of 
the anti-Manchu movement of Young China ;j> but, in 

467 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

assessing the value of its denunciations and the evidence 
which it now produces with impunity in support of its 
assertions, it is well to bear in mind the frankly prejudiced 
character of the writers, and to realise that their state- 
ments are no more worthy of complete confidence than the 
evidence of Tzii Hsi's own decrees and official apologists. 

The principal crimes with which Tzii Hsi stands charged 
are crimes affecting the Imperial succession. Incidents 
such as the murder of the " Pearl Concubine " or her 
complicity in the Boxer madness, are not seriously 
denounced by her critics; by tacit consent it appears 
to be assumed that a ruler in China may forcibly remove 
all obstacles from the path of his, or her, supreme 
authority, except where the direct and legitimate suc- 
cession to the Throne is involved. The instinct of Young 
China seems, in this matter, to be unconsciously at one 
with that of the orthodox literati of the old regime, and 
to spring from recognition of the principle that the whole 
social system of China, based on ancestor worship, is 
bound up with maintenance of the Throne and the 
regular transmission of the Goodly Heritage to legitimate 
heirs. 

In discussing the untimely death of T'ung Chih's 
young widow, the virtuous A-Lu-te, and her unborn 
child in March, 1875, we recorded the fact that " opinions 
have always differed, and will continue to differ, as to the 
truth of her alleged suicide," but that the balance of all 
available evidence undoubtedly pointed in the direction 
of foul play. Of all the crimes with which Tzu Hsi has 
been accused, this was, and is, the most heinous, the most 
cold-blooded and at the same time the most vitally 
necessary to the maintenance of her own position as 
ruler of China. Given the circumstances under which 
it occurred, it was inevitable that the death of this un- 
fortunate woman should be laid at Tzu Hsi's door by 
a verdict of public opinion practically unanimous; but 

468 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

it has been left to the pamphleteers and annalists of the 
Republic to set forth that which purports to be definite 
evidence of the crime. How far this evidence is based 
on testimony of competent witnesses, and how far evolved 
from the inner consciousness of the writers, it were hard 
to say. All the narratives in our possession are the work 
of men who set out with the avowed purpose of vilifying 
the Manchus in general and the Old Buddha in particular. 
In describing many of her alleged crimes — the murder 
of her colleague, the Empress Tzti An; the debauching 
of her son, T'ung Chih; the killing of A-Lu-te, and the 
death of Kuang Hsii— these writers of Young China agree 
generally in their conclusions, but they differ very 
materially on important details of evidence, and their 
work, as a whole, suggests constructive memory developed 
to a very high degree of elasticity. 

The following extracts from the recent work of four 
such writers are reproduced in order that the reader 
may form an impression of the opinion in which the great 
Empress Dowager was held during her lifetime, not 
only by the ever-turbulent spirits of Canton, but by 
many of her detractors and secret enemies in the North. 
Whatever the truth or untruth of their conclusions in 
regard to the personal blood-guiltiness of the Empress 
Dowager, they present, separately and collectively, a 
lamentable picture of the inner life of the Forbidden 
City, where corruption festered around the foundations 
of the Dragon Throne, and where, in the shadows of the 
stately halls, love and pleasure ran swiftly, the grim 
Fates pursuing. 

The first is the work of .|he brilliant scholar P'an 
Tsu-yin, a leader of the Southern party at Peking, in the 
early 'nineties, who died in 1897.,> His memoirs were 
published by his grandson, one of the Shanghai revolution- 
aries, shortly after the abdication of the Manchus. P'an 
Tsu-yin calls his reminiscences Random Notes from the 

469 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Chamber of the Cloudy Sea, this being the poetical name 
which he gave to his studio. For several years he was 
employed in the Palace as a sort of poet laureate, his 
duty being to compose Imperial inscriptions in the Palace 
library. The following paper, dealing with Tzii Hsi's 
first emergence into the arena of State affairs, was written 
in April 1880 : 

" When Su Shun was beheaded, after the abortive 
conspiracy of the usurping Regents in 1861, official 
pronouncements and common report agreed in expressing 
the conviction that he had plotted high treason and 
cherished designs upon the Throne after the death of 
Hsien Feng, and that a coup de main by his faction was 
only averted by Tzu Hsi's resource and courage. Her 
prompt and decisive action in putting him and his fellow 
conspirators to death has been lauded to the skies by 
many writers. Yet the commonly received version of 
this incident is very wide of the truth, as I, who have 
been intimately associated v/ith Palace affairs for many 
years, have good reason to know. The Western Empress's 
real reason for putting Su Shun to death was that he 
knew too much about her, and had therefore to be put 
out of the way. Dead men tell no tales. 

" When Tzii Hsi was first admitted into the Palace, she 
was not an Imperial concubine, but only a handmaiden 
of very low rank. Duties were assigned to her at the 
Summer Palace in an outlying building called ' The 
deep recesses of the plane trees.' There she performed 
her allotted tasks, embroidery and other duties suitable 
to females, with diligence. One of her chief gifts was 
a charming voice ; she knew many Southern songs, which 
she had learned from a nurse who had been with her 
since her birth in the South. One day when Hsien Feng 
was strolling in the grounds of Yuan-Ming-yuan, he heard 
from a grove close by a delicate voice trilling a Southern 

470 




Ladies of the Court working at Embroidery. 
{From a painting by Chin Ying [fifteenth century] in the British Museum.) 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

air. Greatly charmed, the monarch proceeded to make 
the acquaintance of the fair singer. This was his first 
meeting with Yehonala, for on entering the Palace she 
had passed before Tao Kuang and his mother, and he 
never had seen her. He spent the following evening 
in her company; she proved herself an adept flatterer, 
and was clever enough not to appear servile. She 
anticipated all the Emperor's wants and so delighted him 
by her espieglerie and power of mimicry, that on the 
following morning he took her back with him to Peking. 
In due course she bore him an heir, and from that day 
her high destinies were assured. 

" On the occurrence of this auspicious event she was 
raised to the rank of Imperial concubine, in accordance 
with Manchu custom. Her elevation to this high rank 
completely changed her disposition; she grew most 
haughty and unruly. To the Emperor she was contumaci- 
ous and wilful; to her colleagues, overbearing and sar- 
castic. She acted as if the future were absolutely in her 
hands, and Hsien Feng was quite unable to exercise any 
authority over her. He could not even restrain her 
indulging in unseemly dalliance with a young officer of 
the Guard, a kinsman of her own, Jung Lu. The Taiping 
rebellion gave her splendid opportunities for intriguing 
and forming cabals; the Throne was at its wits' end and 
the dynasty seemed to be doomed. Yehonala took 
command of the situation, and by recommending this 
or that officer for preferment at Court steadily increased 
the number of her faithful henchmen. 

" Her power grew apace and soon overshadowed that of 
the Emperor himself; State papers were submitted for 
her inspection : all the while, the weak monarch regarded 
her with increasing jealousy and hatred. At that time 
Su Shun was by far the most prominent member of the 
Imperial Clan. Hsien Feng delighted to honour him and 
always sought his society in preference to that of liis own 

471 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

sulky brother, Prince Kung. No one else at Court 
rivalled him in the Imperial favour. Yehonala knew that 
she had forfeited the Emperor's regard, and was therefore 
anxious to win Su Shun to her side ; she did so in the only 
way open to a woman, by tempting him to woo her. 
Su Shun told her plainly that too many men had known 
her charms for him to wish to make one of that great 
company, and from that day Yehonala's resentment 
against him burned fiercely. 

" On the occasion of the Dragon Festival, she persuaded 
the Emperor to take her on a boating excursion. Yeho- 
nala, an adept with the oar, entered the boat first and stood 
waiting for Hsien Feng and Su Shun to embark. Just 
as the Son of Heaven was getting in, she suddenly dipped 
her oar, causing the boat to tilt, whereupon Hsien Feng 
took an undignified header into the water, besides hurt- 
ing his foot. This act of mischievous effrontery infuriated 
the Emperor. It was about this time that his sister, 
the Princess Imperial, reminded him of the ancient 
prophecy : ' The Manchu house will be overthrown 
because of a warrior woman of the Yehonala Clan.' 
He remarked to Su Shun, in the hearing of a eunuch, 
who told me these facts : ' I propose before long to follow 
the example of the founder of the later Han dynasty 
(a.d. 30) who decreed the execution of his concubine 
Kouyi. What do you say? Shall I kill the Imperial 
concubine, or not ? ' Su Shun declined to utter an 
opinion, but his silence was construed by the Emperor 
as assent. The same eunuch who informed me of these 
things, told Yehonala of her husband's proposal. Her 
proud spirit was curbed for a while, but she lost no 
opportunity for consolidating her position, and the 
Emperor's increasing debility made it difficult for him 
to take any decided action. At this juncture, the war 
with the barbarians broke out. Hsien Feng became 
paralysed with fear and fled from Peking in spite of 

472 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Yehonala's remonstrances. At Jehol his health grew 
rapidly worse : he fell into a state of chronic melancholy, 
shut up Yehonala in one of the side Palaces and forbade 
all intercourse with her. But for the loyalty of some of 
her admirers she would probably have starved to death. 

*' As he lay dying, the Emperor determined that his 
guilty consort should not live to enjoy the fruits of her 
scheming. With his own hand he penned a valedictory 
decree, brief and explicit : ' After Our death you are 
commanded to slay the Western Empress, so that she 
may attend Our spirit in the next world. She must not 
be allowed to live and by her misdeeds overturn Our 
dynasty.' Hsien Feng sent for Su Shun and handed 
him this mandate, with orders to see to its due execution. 
Su Shun placed it inside the Imperial pillow; it had to 
remain in the death chamber, lest men should say it 
was forged. 

" Now it happened that a young eunuch named Li 
Lien-ying, in attendance on the Emperor, was an expert 
masseur and his ministrations gave some relief to the 
dying monarch, whose limbs were racked by rheumatic 
pains. He was waiting in the antechamber whilst the 
Emperor was conversing with Su Shun, and having over- 
heard the decree, hurried off to inform Yehonala. Prince 
Ch'un and his wife (sister of Tzu Hsi) were in Jehol 
at the time, and were waiting in the Palace, expecting at 
any moment to hear of the Emperor's death. Li Lien- 
ying managed to get word to Princess Ch'un of the fatal 
decree, and implored her to succour her beloved sister. 
On the announcement being made that the Emperor 
was being arrayed in his robes of longevity (^. e. that he 
wasm extremis) the Princess was admitted into the chamber 
to assist in performing the last rites. Tzu Hsi was 
also released from her confinement, and entered the death 
chamber with her son, the Heir to the Throne. The 
Senior Empress, Tzu An, had the decree in her hand, but 

473 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Yehonala and her sister between them persuaded her to 
give it up, and promptly burned it. It was commonly 
believed that Tzu An voluntarily surrendered it, not 
wishing to make trouble at such a time, firstly, because 
she had no love for Su Shun, and secondly, because she 
had in her possession another similar document which 
authorised her to slay Yehonala if at any time her conduct 
should prove a danger to the State. At any rate the 
fatal decree was burnt; Su Shun re-entered the death 
chamber after the final offices had been performed, and 
inquired at what hour His Majesty had ascended on high, 
because custom prescribed that this should be inserted in 
the Imperial decree announcing the sovereign's demise. 
Tzu Hsi angrily took out the watch which she wore at her 
girdle, and turning its face towards Su Shun, exclaimed 
in a freezing tone : ' See for yourself; he died only a 
moment ago.' She did not wish it to appear that any 
interval had occurred which would justify suspicion as 
to the destroying of papers. From that day she 
made up her mind to put Su Shun to death. She knew 
that several people in the Palace were aware of the 
Emperor's intention to remove her, so that Su Shun's 
death was necessary to ensure her own safety. How true 
is the saying in the Odes : ' Truculent is the feminine 
nature ! ' Yehonala was a she-wolf at heart, though in 
saying this I know that I am guilty of presumption 
towards one who has shown me favour." 

We turn next to a memoir or pamphlet, circulated over 
the signature of " An Anhui official." After referring 
to the fact that the Manchus first became a power by 
their subjugation of the Yeho tribe, and that they lost 
their Empire as the result of the ascendancy of the 
Yeho Clan (wherein he descries the inexorable whirligig 
of Time), this writer proceeds to explain Tzu Hsi's 
responsibility for the Manchu decadence, as follows : 

.474 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" At the beginning of Hsien Feng's reign, the young 
Emperor created a very favourable impression. But 
the anxiety induced by the successes of the Taiping 
rebels, and the temptations placed in his way by the 
Court eunuchs, led him before long into evil courses of 
debauchery, in which he eventually became hopelessly 
involved. Wearying of the Manchu women of whom his 
harem was composed, he turned a willing ear to the 
beguilements of Su Shun, who played on his weaknesses 
chiefly in order to lessen the influence of Yehonala. 
With the help of the Chief eunuch, Su Shun procured 
thirty beautiful Chinese maidens from Kiangsu and 
Chekiang and brought them to Peking. Now there is 
a dynastic house-law of the Manchus which forbids the 
introduction of Chinese women into the Imperial City.i 
Su Shun accordingly suggested to Hsien Feng that the 
disturbed state of the Empire justified special precautions 
for his personal safety at the Summer Palace, and he 
therefore advised him to employ these thirty Chinese 
women as a special bodyguard on night duty in the 
proximity of the Imperial bedchamber. They were to 
be divided into watches, of three women each, and beat 
the watch rattle in the courtyard adjoining Hsien Feng's 
apartments. Hsien Feng found the idea attractive, and 
the Palace Amazons became a feature of his Court. 

" Although Yehonala had given him an Heir to the 
Throne, Hsien Feng greatly disliked her, and frequently 
discussed with Su Shun the advisability of deposing her. 
On his death-bed he wrote a valedictory Edict which he 
handed to his consort (Tzu An) in which he said : ' The 
Western Concubine being mother of the new Emperor, 

^ This law was introduced by the mother of Shun Chih, the first 
Manchu Emperor, in order to guard her son against debauchery and 
to preserve the purity of the Manchu stock. She had an iron pillar 
erected at the entrance to the Palace, bearing the inscription, " If 
any females with small feet dare to pass this gate, let them be summaril^^ 
beheaded." 

475 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

it will be necessary to raise her to the rank of Empress 
Dowager. But she is utterly untrustworthy, and capable 
of any crime. Do not let her influence you in matters of 
government, but decide everything for yourself. If she 
behaves herself, well and good; treat her with all kind- 
ness. But if her misdeeds become flagrant, you must 
summon the chief Ministers to your presence and show 
them this decree, which authorises you to compel her 
to commit suicide.' Hsien Feng never contemplated 
the joint Regency : the valedictory decree subsequently 
produced by Yehonala was forged for her by Li Hung-tsao. 

'' Upon Hsien Feng's demise, a clear distinction was at 
once drawn between the two Empresses : the senior, 
Tzii An, received the higher title of ' Empress Mother,' 
while to Yehonala was given the inferior appellation of 
' Holy Mother.' [To a European the distinction is 
hardly apparent; suffice it to say, that in Chinese eyes 
there exists a real gulf between the two titles.] There 
was a precedent for thus lowering the rank of the Emperor's 
actual parent in the reign of Wan Li [sixteenth century], 
where a similar course had been adopted to thwart an 
ambitious woman. Yehonala was furious, and intrigued 
to such effect that she soon secured a title which gave 
her rank with, but after, the Senior Empress. She became 
the ' Motherly and Auspicious,' a title which, for experts 
in honorifics, is only a little less elevated than the ' Motherly 
and Peace-giving,' which designated Tzu An. 

" At Jehol, Yehonala first threw out suggestions of 
her scheme for seizing the Regency to some of the 
Council. The idea met with no enthusiasm, as was evident 
from the demeanour of the Ministers, but none of them 
dared openly to oppose the masterful young woman, 
except Tu Han, who boldly rebuked her and pointed out 
that such a course would constitute a flagrant violation 
of dynastic house-law. Yehonala said no more at the 
time. The Empresses' Regency was thus unwelcome 

476 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

to the Court when first mooted; if it subsequently came 
to be well received, this was because Su Shun made 
himself highly unpopular by his overbearing manners 
and by his openly expressed contempt for certain Princes 
of the Imperial Clan, who headed a strong party against 
him. Posterity has done scant justice to Su Shun 
because of his high stomach. The man was really far 
from bad, and infinitely less venal than most of his 
contemporaries. At least he was no bigoted Manchu, 
and it was chiefly through his influence that high military 
commands were given to Chinese like Hu Lin-yi and Tso 
Tsung-t'ang. At Court they called him the ' Emperor's 
alarum.' 

"As to Tzii Hsi : ' The true story of the inner Chamber 
cannot be told in its entirety.' ^ The Empire soon 
learned to know only too well what were the morals 
of the Empress : her liaison with An Te-hai, who was 
no eunuch, was in all men's mouths. It was rumoured 
at one time that she was enceinte, and people whispered 
that, if T'ung Chih died without an heir, the next 
Emperor would be illegitimate, like the ' First Emperor ' 
of the Chin dynasty. It was because of this scandal 
that the Empress Tzii An decided to kill An Te-hai. 
His remains were never exhibited to the public, lest the 
fact should come to light that he was not a eunuch. 

" When the time came for the marriage of her son, 
T'ung Chih, Yehonala was very anxious that a daughter 
of Feng Hsia should become Empress Consort, but in 
this she was thwarted by Tzii An. A-Lu-te, who was 
chosen, was chaste and well-read. Chastity had no 
charms for Tzii Hsi, who alternately flouted and ignored 
her. She even went so far as to forbid the Emperor 
to visit his Consort, and compelled him to pass his time 
in the company of Lady Feng, who had been given the 
title of ' Discerning Concubine.' T'ung Chih soon 
^ A quotation from the Odes. 
477 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

wearied of the Discerning one, and for a time spent his 
nights in soHtude at the Palace of Celestial Purity. It 
was not to be wondered at, perhaps, under these cir- 
cumstances, that the eunuchs soon persuaded him to 
accompany them on long nocturnal excursions to the 
gay quarter of the capital; on these occasions he passed 
as the ' licentiate Ch'en from Kiangsi.' On one of 
these outings he met in a tavern the Vice-president 
Mao Chang-hsi, and nodded to him affably. Mao was 
greatly alarmed and promptly informed the police that 
the Son of Heaven was leaving the Palace incognito, so 
that after this T'ung Chih's steps were dogged by a number 
of guards. T'ung Chih was far from gratified by these 
attentions and at the next audience expostulated strongly 
with Mao for not minding his own business. 

" When the Emperor fell ill of the disease which proved 
fatal, Tzu An sent for the Empress A-Lu-te and com- 
forted her by allowing her to minister to her husband. 
Now it is an old custom of the Palace that whenever the 
Emperor desires to visit any one of his concubines, an 
order in writing must first be sent by the Empress Consort 
bidding the favoured one to await the coming of the Son 
of Heaven. This order must be sealed with the Empress's 
seal, for without her authority the concubine is not 
permitted to give' admission to the Emperor. [This 
has been the rule ever since the attempt to assassinate 
the Emperor Chia Ch'ing in 1542, when Yang Chin-ying 
attacked him in one of the concubines' apartments.] 
When T'ung Chih was ill and quite unfit to leave his bed 
he nevertheless persuaded his Consort to seal an order 
authorising a visit to one of his concubines. Shortly 
after this, his condition became desperate, and realising 
that the end was near, he sent for Li Hung-tsao, in whom 
he trusted, and on his coming, bade him raise the curtain 
and enter the bedchamber. A-Lu-te, who was standing 
by the bed, wished to withdraw, but T'ung Chih stopped 

478 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

her, saying : ' The Imperial Tutor is the old and trusted 
servant of the late Emperor : you may stay and hear 
what I have to say.' Li went down on his knees and 
made obeisance : T'ung Chih bade him arise, saying : 
' This is no time for ceremony.' Then, taking Li's 
hand, he went on : 'I am dying.' Both Li and A-Lu-te 
began to weep, but he told them to desist and listen, as 
his time was very short. Turning to his wife, he asked : 
' In the event of my death, who, think you, should 
succeed me ? ' She replied : ' The nation needs a ruler 
who has attained to manhood. I have no desire to be 
Empress Dowager and to have the charge of an infant 
Emperor. A minority would be a disaster to China.' 
The Emperor smiled : ' That is well. I am delighted that 
you realise this; I need not be uneasy any more.' He 
next told Li that he wished his first cousin the Beileh 
Tsai Ch'u, son of the ninth Prince, to succeed him as heir 
to Hsien Feng.^ He then dictated his valedictory decree, 
which he bade Li copy out by his bedside. It contained 
about a thousand characters and introduced elaborate 
safeguards against his mother's usurpation of power. The 
dying man perused it with satisfaction, saying : ' Capital ! 
Go now and rest; I may see you again before the end.' 
*' Li Hung-tsao left the Palace deadly pale and trembling 
violently; no wonder, for he hurried straight to Tzu 
Hsi's Palace and demanded immediate audience of her. 
Yehonala bade him enter, whereupon, without prelimin- 
aries, he produced the valedictory decree from his sleeve. 
Her Majesty read it with her usual unmoved calm : 
but at the end her rage burst forth. She rose from her 
seat, tore the paper into pieces and trampled them under 
her feet. ' Leave us at once,' she said to Li. She then 
gave orders that no more medicine or food of any kind 

^ This Prince was sent to prison by Tzu Hsi in 1898, after the coup 
d'etat ; his rank was restored to him by the Regent, Prince Ch'un, on 
the day of Yuan Shih-k'ai's downfall in 1909. 

479 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

was to be taken to the Emperor; and no one was to go 
near him. She herself hurried to her son's apartment 
only to find him already dead. Tzii Hsi always remained 
grateful to Li for this act of treachery. True, she 
dismissed him from the Council in 1884, but ten years 
later he was again high in office, and after his death 
he received the highest possible title of canonisation, 
' Learned and Orthodox.' Li Hung-chang used to say that 
this one act of the Imperial Tutor had done more than any 
other to bring the house of Gioro to ruin, owing to the harm 
Tzu Hsi's second Regency did to China. After the coup 
d'etat in 1898, he narrated the whole incident to Ma Chien- 
chung, one of his secretaries, and added : ' Li Hung-tsao 
ruined the dynasty by that one act of his. We have him 
to thank for the war with Japan and all our subsequent 
misfortunes.' ^ It was Ma who told me the facts. 

" It was dusk when T'ung Chih died; the Grand Council 
were summoned at once to the side hall, but they found 
there Yehonala alone. She was standing beside the 
Throne, wearing her every- day costume. The Princes 
and Ministers inquired after His Majesty; the news of 
his decease being as yet unknown. Yehonala smiled : 
' Oh ! His Majesty is in splendid health,' she said. That 
was all, but the Court knew that the Emperor was dead. 

" A moment later, suddenly forcing an angry tone, 
Tzii Hsi exclaimed : ' The Emperor is dead,' and then 
went on, ' This is no time for ceremony ; we have im- 
portant business before us.' During the discussion which 
followed, only Wen Hsiang opposed Tzii Hsi, and pressed 
for the appointment of an heir to T'ung Chih instead of to 
Hsien Feng. He was greatly indignant at the wrong done 
to T'ung Chih,^ whom he only survived by a few months. 

1 It is only fair to say that, in the opinion of his countrymen, Li 
Ilung-Chang himself was chiefly to blame for the war with Japan and 
China's ignominious defeat. 

2 Vide China under the Empress Dowager, p. 135. 

480 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" During the first years of Kuang Hsii's reign, Tzu Hsi 
took but little interest in the government, and frequently 
abstained from appearing at audiences. This was in 
itself significant, and when, in February 1881, she was 
taken ill, and remained confined to her rooms for two 
months, it was generally believed that she gave birth 
to a child, of whom Jung Lu was believed to be 
the father. As it would have been contrary to etiquette 
for the Court physician to give her prescriptions appro- 
priate for an illness resulting from confinement (Yehonala 
being a widow), they treated her as if for dysentery, and 
her state, instead of improving, grew worse. It was not till 
Dr. Hsieh Fu-chen was summoned from Kiangsu that he 
diagnosed her complaint correctly, but in ordering the 
proper remedies he was careful to write at the top of the 
prescription ' For dysentery,' so that the august patient 
might not lose face. [All prescriptions for the Palace 
must be recorded in the archives of the Court of 
Physicians.] 

" Tzii An had discovered her colleague in several 
equivocal situations, and was well aware of her lack of 
feminine virtue, but she was of a generous and tolerant 
nature. On Tzii Hsi's recovery from the illness above 
mentioned, the Eastern Empress invited her to a party 
to celebrate the event. After the wine cup had been 
passed three times, Tzu An dismissed all the attendants, 
desiring to appeal to Tzii Hsi's better nature by talking 
confidentially over old times. She referred to their child- 
hood and to her father's kindness to the stricken family 
of Yehonala, and then she spoke of the flight to Jehol 
and the plot of Tsai-yuan, which so nearly brought ruin 
to them both. Yehonala affected to be deeply moved, 
and shed many tears during this recital. The Eastern 
Empress proceeded : ' We are both getting old, my 
sister; it may not be long before one of us rejoins our 
lord and master Hsien Feng in the Halls of the Lower 
II 481 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

World. We have spent some twenty years together, 
and on the whole we have never had a real disagreement. 
Now, I have in my possession something which I received 
from His late Majesty and which has become of no value. 
I am afraid of its being discovered in the event of my 
death, in which case people might be led to suppose that 
our relations had only been friendly on the surface, and 
that we were really at enmity. This would be a pity 
indeed, and would be contrary to the late Emperor's 
wish.' With these words she produced a paper from her 
sleeve and handed it to Yehonala, who read it, turned 
ghastly pale, and could hardly master her feelings. For 
the document was the mandate given to Tzu An by 
Hsien Feng, as he lay dying, authorising her to kill 
Tzii Hsi if necessary. When Tzii Hsi had read it 
through, Tzu An asked for it again, saying : ' Do not 
be angry, sister. Be sure I should not have let you see 
this if I had harboured any feelings against you. I 
wished you to see it, that you might realise the very real 
affection that I have for you.' She then took the paper 
and burnt it before Tzu Hsi's eyes, saying, with a smile : 
' It is worthless now, and had better be destroyed. 
I feel that I have done my duty by His Majesty and have 
fulfilled his wishes.' Yehonala was enraged beyond 
measure, but managed to hide her feelings. She pre- 
tended even to shed tears of penitent gratitude, and clasped 
Tzu An's hand, while her breast heaved with sobs. Tzu 
An consoled her and advised her to return to her Palace 
and rest. It was then that Tzu Hsi made up her mind 
to kill the Eastern Empress. So true is the adage that 
' He who is not accustomed to train savage beasts should 
do nothing to goad them to fury.' Tzu An would have 
done well to remember this saying. 

" A few days later Tzii An visited her colleague and found 
her quite unlike her haughty self; she was a model of 
submissive affection, so that the eunuch attendants could 

482 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

not understand what had come over their mistress. As 
for Tzii An, she congratulated herself on her wise diplo- 
macy and fancied that she had curbed Yehonala's proud 
spirit for ever. Before leaving, Tzu An complained of 
feeling hungry; Tzu Hsi thereupon ordered Li Lien-ying 
to bring up a tray full of sweet cakes. Tzti An took 
several and found them far more palatable than those 
served to her from the Imperial kitchen. Yehonala 
was glad and said : ' Oh ! these are made by my sister, 
the Duchess Chao. If you like them, I will send word 
to her to-morrow and she will make some more.' Tzu 
An thanked her, and Yehonala said smilingly : ' My 
family is as your family. How, then, should my sister 
be deemed worthy of your thanks ? ' Two days later 
the Duchess Chao duly furnished several boxes of cakes 
precisely similar in appearance to those which Tzii An 
had so greatly enjoyed. Tzii An ate one or two and 
found the flavour somewhat bitter. Before sundown she 
was dead — poisoned. 

" Now it chanced that, on the previous evening, Tzii An 
had not been feeling quite well, and had sent for the same 
physician who had treated Yehonala so successfully, 
Dr. Hsieh Fu-chen. He advised her, in a memorial, 
that there was nothing much the matter, and that she 
did not need medicine. The eunuchs insisted, however, 
on his prescribing, so he gave her a cooling mixture and 
withdrew. Next day he went to call on his friend, 
Yen Ching-ming, the Grand Secretary, and while the 
two were chatting, one of Yen's secretaries came from 
the Board of Revenue with a document for his Chief 
to sign. He mentioned that, when he left the office, 
a rumour was in circulation that the Eastern Empress 
had expired. ' They were ordering the " auspicious 
boards " ^ to be prepared,' said he. Dr. Hsieh could not 
believe his ears, and dropped the cup he had in his hand, 
^ In the Palace an Imperial coffin is thus described. 
483 



ANNALS AND MEIvIOIKS OF 

exclaiming, ' I saw Her Majesty only a very short while 
ago and she had nothing but a slight chill. It is im- 
possible that it could have proved fatal. It is far more 
likely that the Western Empress has had a relapse, and 
that some mistake has occurred by confusing the names.' 
Presently, however, one of the Household came to tell 
the fatal news. When Dr. Hsieh heard it, he was greatly 
distressed and said : ' There are stranger things in 
Heaven and earth than ever I dreamed of. What have 
I to live for now ? ' Because of his skill in medicine 
he had recently been promoted to be Lieutenant- General 
of a Banner. 

" During Tzu Hsi's sickness, audiences had been held by 
Tzii An alone. That evening, when Tso Tsung-t'ang 
attended at the Palace, before the report of Tzu An's 
death had been published, he inquired how she was. 
They told him she was dead, whereat he was horrified 
and amazed : ' I saw her at audience to-day and she 
spoke with all her usual vigour; I cannot believe that 
such a death can have been natural.' Prince Kung 
hurriedly stopped him from saying anything more, but 
the eunuchs had heard him and duly informed their 
mistress. Tso left the capital not long afterwards. 

" The collection of poisons in the Palace comprised drugs 
of such potency that with some death followed on mere 
contact with the lips, while others took many days to 
operate and were not to be detected by any Chinese 
methods. Many of these drugs had come down from the 
Ming dynasty. Some of them were said to have been 
brought from Italy in K'ang Hsi's day by foreigners at 
the Court. It was with one of these drugs that Tzu 
Hsi poisoned ' Mysterious ' Liu, one of the chief eunuchs, 
whose influence for a time exceeded even that of Li 
Lien-ying. This eunuch was senior to Li in standing, 
and though Li gradually rose in Yehonala's favour, Liu 
continued to attend Her Majesty daily and would not be 

484 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

supplanted by his younger rival. Li hated him and 
slandered him in every possible way to the Empress, 
but Liu was very cunning, and managed to anticipate 
calumny with explanations which always pacified Tzu 
Hsi. One day, however, he offended Her Majesty, 
who reproved him severely; this time, Li's abuse of his 
rival fell on attentive ears and Tzu Hsi, giving way to 
a passion of rage, ordered Liu to attend her immediately. 
When he appeared, she recapitulated the list of his 
offences, some thirty in all, and ended by saying : ' Do 
you not think you merit decapitation ? ' Liu realised 
that there was no hope, so kotowed, saying : ' Your 
slave deserves to die a myriad deaths, but I implore 
the Old Buddha to remember that I have served her, as 
her dog or her horse, for thirty years; let her grant me 
at least the favour of dying with a whole skin.' She 
pondered over this for a minute, and replied : ' Very 
well; you may go now, and await my further commands.' 
She bade her handmaidens conduct him to a small ante- 
chamber and lock the door on him. Then she burst out 
laughing, and called all her eunuchs and women to her 
side : ' I have a new amusement for you to-day,' she 
said. One of the women was told to bring a small case 
from her bedroom; Yehonala opened it with a tiny 
key which she wore at her girdle. It contained about 
twenty phials, one of which she selected and poured out 
some of the contents, a pink powder, into a wine-cup. 
She mixed some water with this and bade the attendant 
take it to Liu and say that he was to drink the contents 
and then lie quietly down. The attendant soon returned 
and reported that Liu had thanked Her Majesty for her 
benevolence and had done as directed. Tzii Hsi waited 
about ten minutes and then said : ' You may now see 
the fun I promised you. Open Liu's door and see how 
he fares,' The eunuch was lying apparently asleep; 
though dead, he showed no trace of suffering. Yehonala 

485 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

had a heart of iron : indeed, ' What in this world is 
so truculent as the feminine nature ? ' " 

Another memoir, by "A writer on Court subjects," 
deals with the same tragic incident. It will be seen that 
his statements, based on the real or alleged testimony 
of one of Tzu An's confidential eunuchs, coincide with 
those of the " Anhui official " in regard to several of the 
main charges against Tzu Hsi, but the motives alleged for 
the sending of the poisoned cakes have nothing in common 
in the two narratives. It seems fair to conclude that in one 
instance (or both) the writer has drawn on his imagination 
for his facts, and constructed theories which seemed to him 
to meet the case and to supply a plausible indictment. 

This writer professes to give the " main facts concern- 
ing the sudden death of Tzii An." 

" When the Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace 
died suddenly in 1881," he says, " suspicion pointed 
to Tzii Hsi, who had everything to gain by putting her 
colleague out of the way, but her guilt remained not 
proven, owing to the care with which Palace secrets were 
guarded. In April 1908, I was in Peking, and happened 
to meet a eunuch in a shop outside the Ch'ien Men, with 
whom I becamQ intimate. He had formerly been Tzu 
An's confidential table boy; his name was Liu Wen-pin. 
It is hard to say why Tzii Hsi did not take his life, but 
the Old Buddha was always unaccountably loth to kill 
more people than was necessary. This man told me the 
whole story and, on the face of it, I should think his 
record was true. He said : 

' The elevation of Kuang Hsii to the Throne was quite 
contrary to the wish of Tzu An; after his accession she 
took even less part in State business than during T'ung 
Chih's reign. Above all things she hated a scene, and was 
distressed by her colleague's somewhat hasty temper. 
She took to religious observances, became a devout 

486 



v^^<S^i\-'tjiiltf!i^fpfi<^i^»ft^^ 




Q m' 



o a 

to w 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Buddhist, and fasted on all the occasions which custom 
enjoined. Bonzes attended her Palace and recited 
prayers daily, and in time of drought or flood she would 
pray for hours together. 

' At that time the most fashionable actor in Peking 
was one Yang Yueh-lou, remarkable for his personal 
beauty and charm. Tzu Hsi summoned him to her 
Palace to play before her, became attracted by his good 
manners and gift of ready repartee, and ended by be- 
coming intimate with him. He would come to her apart- 
ments at all hours of the day and night ; finally, she installed 
him as doorkeeper, and although this caused some scandal, 
none of the Princes or officials of the Court ventured to 
remonstrate with her except one courageous Censor, 
who, in a memorial, plainly hinted at her flagrant viola- 
tion of ancestral house law. Yang frequently spent the 
whole night in Tzu Hsi's company. One evening, Tzu An 
had occasion to go across to Tzu Hsi's quarters, in con- 
nection with some official appointment that was to be 
decided next morning. She appeared unannounced. Tzu 
Hsi was out in the grounds, but Yang was calmly re- 
clining on the Old Buddha's " phoenix bed." Tzu An 
saw him quite plainly and beat a hasty retreat, after 
giving to the maids in attendance the message which 
she desired to be conveyed to Tzu Hsi. 

' Tzu Hsi, on returning, was horrified to find that she 
was found out. As was her wont, she acted promptly. 
She ordered Yang to arise, and handed him a cup of 
clotted cream flavoured with apricot, saying : " The 
Empress of the East will be back almost immediately, 
so you had best be off. Here is a beverage, from my own 
table, which you may drink in my presence." The 
flattered minion partook of the delicacy and just managed 
to reach his home before dying in awful agony. The 
cup had contained a large quantity of arsenic, the poison 
which Tzu Hsi found most effective. 

487 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

' Tzii Hsi then took to her room and gave out that she 
was too sick to attend to State matters. Tzu An had 
been much shocked by what she had seen. Had she been 
a strong woman, she could easily have degraded Tzu Hsi 
by issuing a decree recounting her misdeeds; indeed, 
she might have secured her death for so gross a breach 
of a widow's duty and disrespect to Hsien Feng's soul 
in Heaven. But she feared Tzu Hsi too much to venture 
on such a step, and it never occurred to her that in her 
own self-defence she would be wise to take action, inas- 
much as Tzu Hsi was not likely to forget or forgive 
having been surprised in a compromising situation. 
Instead of denouncing her, she sent eunuchs daily to 
ask after the malingerer's health and to urge her to 
return to the discharge of her duties. 

' Now, it so happened that at this time a memorial 
had come in from one of the provinces, recounting the 
heroic chastity of a certain young widow, who, though 
starving, had died rather than accept the advances of a 
wealthy neighbour. The Governor memorialised the 
Empresses, asking for the honour of a memorial arch to 
be conferred as an encouragement to " faithful women 
who would die rather than lose their virtue." Tzii An 
came across to show this document to Tzii Hsi, and to 
ask her decision. Possibly she may have thought to 
avert suspicion from her colleague's mind by talking 
frankly about the woman's virtue, which would lead 
Tzii Hsi to think that her colleague knew nothing of her 
recent intrigue. But Tzii Hsi's suspicions were not to 
be thus lulled. She answered Tzii An perfunctorily, 
her own mind working rapidly all the time. She came to 
the conclusion that this was a subtle way of informing 
her that her own lack of feminine virtue had been dis- 
covered, so she determined to delay no longer. Tzii An 
said : " This memorial will show you how you are needed 
at Court; pray come back at once." Tzii Hsi answered : 

488 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

" The woman acted well ; let her have her arch, as an 
example to the women of the day." No more was said, 
but on the following day Tzu Hsi sent her favourite 
waiting-maid to Tzu An with a present of honey cakes 
and her reverent greeting. Tzii An ate of them and died 
of poison within a few hours. When Tso Tsung-t'ang 
(who had only lately arrived to take up his duties on the 
Grand Council) came to Court next day, he was met by 
the announcement that Tzu An was dead. He stamped 
angrily up and down the Palace courtyard, exclaiming : 
" Why was no announcement made of her illness, and why 
was no doctor called in from the Imperial Court of 
Physicians ? It seems very strange also that no decree 
was issued immediately after her decease occurred, as 
custom requires; its belated issue is highly suspicious." 

' Tzii Hsi, who was in the main hall of audience, was 
speedily informed by her eunuchs of what Tso had said. 
She took an early opportunity of relieving him of his 
duties on the Grand Council by sending him to Nanking 
as Viceroy. She realised that he suspected her, and his 
death soon afterwards came as an immense relief. He was 
too powerful, with his army behind him, for her to adopt 
her usual drastic methods in his case. I was lucky 
myself in not incurring Tzu Hsi's suspicions; indeed, 
she has always treated me with much liberality. I am 
still in her service, although my present duties keep me 
in the Forbidden City.' 

"Thus ended the eunuch's statement; a few moons 
later Tzii Hsi herself ' mounted the chariot drawn by 
fairies and went forth on her distant journey.' Doubtless 
she still has her imperious way in the Halls of the Lower 
World, and compels her colleague to yield precedence to 
her august shade ! " 

Finally, we reproduce an extract from the artlessly 
biased writings of the Chinese essayist who signs himself 

489 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

" Born out of Time." The monotonous regularity with 
which these pamphleteers credit the Old Buddha with 
selecting her lovers from the lowest classes, suggests a 
conspiracy of defamation, very characteristic of Oriental 
methods. 

This writer observes : " During the lifetime of the Old 
Buddha, the following story was only whispered with 
bated breath in the precincts of the Palace, but its 
truth is universally acknowledged. It accounts for Her 
Majesty's illegal nomination of Kuang Hsii to the Throne, 
far better than the commonly accepted official version 
of the matter, whereby it is explained that Tzu Hsi 
appointed him because of his physical disabilities, so that 
she might look forward to a prolonged Regency. 

" The Old Buddha was very fond of poached eggs 
cooked in chicken gravy, a popular dish in Peking 
restaurants, where it is commonly called ' tangwo kuo ' 
(literally, ' fruits lying in gravy '). During her first 
Regency she insisted on having this delicacy brought to 
her every morning by the eunuch. An Te-hai, and after 
his death by Li Lien-ying. They bought it at the 
Chinhua (Gold Blossom) restaurant, which stands outside 
the West gate of the Imperial city, a house famous for 
this dish. [En passant, I may mention that the Old 
Buddha was charged twenty-four taels for four eggs 
served in this way, the usual price being about twenty 
cents, so An and Li must have made handsome profits.] 
After An's unlucky decease, Li made friends with one of 
the waiters at the restaurant, a handsome youth of twenty, 
named Shih, who had a remarkably white complexion. 
Li allowed this youth to accompany him within the for- 
bidden precincts, and even into Tzu Hsi's Palace. One 
day the Empress observed him, was struck by his good 
looks, and asked Li who he was. On learning his name 
and origin, Tzu Hsi was pleased to say : ' He is the best- 
looking lad I've seen for many a long day. He shall 

490 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

have a post in the Palace, and he can wait upon me at 
table.' The result was that Shih was always at her side, 
and the intimacy, much to Li's disgust, resulted in Tzii 
Hsi becoming enceinte. She was then in her thirty-sixth 
year. When the child was born, it was obviously im- 
possible to bring him up in the Palace, so Tzii Hsi appealed 
to her favourite sister, Prince Ch'un's wife, to help her. 
The infant was hurriedly removed to the West city, where 
Prince Ch'un lived. Doubtless the Prince was also in 
the secret, which would account for the Old Buddha's 
marked favour towards him. Tzu Hsi's next step was 
to put the unlucky Shih to death. This story serves also 
to explain Li Lien-ying's undisguised contempt for 
Kuang Hsii, for he could not forget his humble origin. 
When T'ung Chih died, Tzii Hsi defied ancestral tradition 
by placing this child, her second son, upon the Throne, 
as successor to his half-brother. One can realise what 
a bitter blow it must have been to her to find the boy 
growing up hostile and disobedient to his mother, to 
whom alone he owed the Throne. No doubt Wu Ko-tu ^ 
was in the secret of this matter, and if so, his historic 
protest requires to be read in a sense different from that 
which has hitherto been placed upon it. He would 
have wished to save the house of Gioro from being 
tainted by illegitimacy of this kind, and for this reason 
urged that the appointment of Kuang Hsii should be 
nullified at the first opportunity. On these grounds, 
also, the Old Buddha may have justified her design on the 
Emperor's life in 1900; she may have argued that she 
had a perfect right to dispose of her own son as she chose." 
The frame of mind in which " Born out of Time " 
records these things is fittingly illustrated by his con- 
cluding observations : " IfJ^lie^ purpose of the revolution 

^ The famous Censor who committed suicide at the grave of T'ung 
Chih to protest against the illegality of the succession of Kuang Hsii 
(^'ide China unfler the Erniness Dotva^er, p. 132). 

491 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

was to eradicate the Manchu dominion," he says, "it 
may appear to some to have been unnecessary, for that 
purpose had been to all intents effected by the Chinese 
paramour of the, concubine of Ymig Cheng, by^Yehonala, 
and others," 

It is interesting to compare the estimate of Tzu Hsi's 
character as presented by Young China, with that in 
which she was held by men like Tseng-Kuo-fan, Liu 
K'un-yi, and many other great officers of State, and to 
wonder which of these verdicts will be finally accepted 
in the histories written for the learning of the sons of 
Han in ages to come. It is certain that, making due 
allowance for bias of class, the opinion of the orthodox 
and sober-minded literati is the more sincere and nearer 
to the truth, and that it represents the instinctive judg- 
ment of the mass of Tzii Hsi's contemporaries. But the 
text-books for the use of young China's schools are not likely 
to take their picture of the Old Buddha from the annals 
of the orthodox. History, as Froude has said, presents 
no subject matter for science : had he examined some 
of the material from which Chinese history is usually 
compiled, he might have expressed the same idea in 
more forcible terms. 



492 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE COURT UNDER THE LAST REGENCY 

After the death of the Emperor Kuang Hsii on the 
14th November, 1908, followed next day by that of the 
Empress Dowager Tzii Hsi, the Throne passed once more 
to a child of tender years, the Emperor Hsiian T'ung. 
The objections to the succession were many and valid, 
and the risks of a Regency obvious, but Tzu Hsi, always 
a law unto herself, overrode all opposition. Her motives 
in selecting this infant son of Prince Ch'un (brother of 
the late Emperor) were mixed, and her dying words 
showed that she herself was by no means blind to the 
dangers to which her autocratic decision would expose 
the State. One of the factors which chiefly influenced 
her choice, was a desire to perpetuate the influence of the 
Yehonala Clan in the person of her niece (Kuang Hsii's 
widow), the Empress Lung Yii; another, as she herself 
declared, lay in the promise which she had made to Jung 
Lu, at the time when she betrothed his daughter to Prince 
Ch'un, that the eldest son of this marriage should become 
Heir to the Throne, in recognition of Jung Lu's lifelong 
service to the dynasty and to herself. 

But whatever her motives, the immediate result of 
her action was to create a condition of affairs in the Palace 
similar to that which had served her so well during the 
minority of the Emperor T'ung Chih, and again during 
that of Kuang Hsii. It is to be remembered that when 
she issued her Decree of the 14th November, appointing 
Prince Ch'un Regent and his infant son Emperor, she 

493 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

had every intention of living; and had she not died, it 
is perfectly certain that the Regent would have enjoyed 
no greater authority than she had allowed to his un- 
fortunate brother Kuang Hsii. It was only on the 
following day, and at the very point of death, that she 
issued a decree conferring upon him the whole govern- 
ment of the Empire ; and it will be remembered that, even 
then, she took from him the substance of authority, 
leaving only the shadow, by the concluding sentence 
of that decree, which ordered that " in any question of 
vital importance, in regard to which an expression of 
the Empress Dowager's opinion is desirable, the Regent 
shall apply to her in person for instructions, and act 
accordingly." ^ 

The ill-starred Regent found himself, from the outset, 
sore let and hindered in the administration of the Goodly 
Heritage. Tzu Hsi's last act, indeed, was fiendishly 
ingenious, if her object was to create divided counsels 
and to perpetuate the old Yehonala Clan feud in the 
Palace. The Regent's position was effectively under- 
mined by that last clause of the decree, which placed at 
the disposal of the new Empress Dowager and the 
Yehonala Clan powers of supervision and interference 
sufficient to thwart him at every turn. The Regent and 
his party were checkmated from the first move : the real 
powers behind the Throne must always be his sister-in- 
law, the Empress Lung Yii, and his wife, the strong- 
minded daughter of Jung Lu. Tzu Hsi with her last 
breath advised her high officers of State " never again to 
allow any woman to hold the supreme power," but her 
valedictory orders made petticoat government a fore- 
gone conclusion, complicated by the further certainty of 
a struggle for power between these two masterful women. 

Had the Regent been a man of strong purpose and re- 
source, he might have won through to supreme authority 
^ Vide China under the Empress Dowager, p. 465. 
494 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

by a skilful policy of Divide et Impera ; but he showed 
neither initiative, courage nor intelligence, and frequently 
played into the hands of Lung Yii by the perpetration 
of blunders which, in the eyes of the Court, made her 
interference in State affairs wholly justifiable and in- 
evitable. History seemed, indeed, to be in a fair way to 
repeat itself with extraordinary fidelity. Had it not been 
for the debdcle of the revolution, whereby the Regent, 
the Yehonala Clan, and all the loves and hates of the 
Manchus were sw^ept into the limbo of things out- worn, 
it is quite safe to say that the position between the 
Empress Dowager, the young Emperor's mother and the 
Regent would have reproduced nearly all the essential 
features which existed during the joint Regency of Tzu 
Hsi and Tzu An, Empresses of the Eastern and Western 
Palaces, after the death of Hsien Feng, at the time when 
Prince Kung ^vas "Adviser to the Government"; and 
it is equally safe to say that Lung Yii, faithfully following 
in the footsteps of Tzu Hsi, would before long have 
deprived Prince Ch'un of the Regency and relegated his 
wife, the Emperor's mother, to an innocuous background. 
Lung Yii, whose death occurred " in the profound 
seclusion of the Summer Palace," on the 22nd of February, 
1913, was openly estranged from her lord for many years 
before his death. When Tzu Hsi selected her for the 
position of Imperial Consort, in 1889, it was more with 
a view to strengthening the hands of the Yehonala Clan ^ 
through her influence, than to increase the felicity of 
His Majesty Kuang Hsii; and as both parties were aware 
of the fact, it would have been strange had their relations 
been cordial. Kuang Hsii's senior Consort certainly 
never pretended to love, honour and obey him; never- 
theless, she resented his devotion to the " Pearl Concu- 
bine," and frequently quarrelled with her husband. In 
appearance Her Majesty was unattractive, and her 
^ She was the daughter of Kiiei Hsiang, brother of Tzii Hsi. 

495 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

disposition anything but genial; but she possessed the 
shrewd mother-wit and genius for intrigue which had 
distinguished her august aunt. 

After Tzii Hsi's death, Lung Yii, now Empress Dowager, 
lost no time in asserting her authority, with the result 
that the inmates of the Palace and the officials of the 
metropolis speedily ranged themselves into opposing 
camps, the adherents of the Empress and her Clan against 
the Regent and his party. A further element of dis- 
ruption arose in the strife which divided the eunuchs of 
the Palace into two fiercely hostile parties, the followers 
of Tzu Hsi's aged major domo, Li Lien-ying, fighting 
for perquisites and power against the partisans of Lung 
Yii's favourite, the arrogant young eunuch, Chang Yuan- 
fu. Here again history repeated itself with almost 
monotonous observance of dynastic tradition, and with 
the usual deplorable results. 

Lung Yii made Tzii Hsi her model in all things. Those 
who had hoped that the new regime would set itself to 
abolish the crying evils of the eunuch system and, by 
cleansing the Augean stables of the Palace, give an 
earnest of its desire to effect reforms in other directions, 
were speedily disillusioned. The new Empress Dowager, 
like her august predecessor, was profuse with good 
intentions, but in practice she followed the example of 
the Old Buddha's extravagant and licentious youth, 
so that her Court rapidly became a hotbed of scandals 
and abuses. Upon the plea of reorganising the Imperial 
Household on a basis of careful economy and good order 
she did, indeed, reduce the eunuch staff and dismiss many 
of the Palace women, but the individuals dismissed were 
invariably supporters of the Regent's faction. She dis- 
played a keen interest in the affairs of government, 
metropolitan and provincial, but her interest arose 
unmistakably from the connection of these affairs with 
the replenishing of her own Privy Purse. 

496 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

One day, in the autumn of 1909, Lung Yii was taking 
the air with her favourite handmaidens and eunuchs 
on the Lake near the Winter Palace. The conversation 
turned on certain criticisms which had recently been 
directed against Her Majesty by some of the Censors 
and even in the Press. " I care nothing for such 
criticisms," said Lung Yii. " Her late sainted Majesty 
suffered greatly from the irresponsible wagging of evil 
tongues. I am firmly resolved to make her my guide 
and pattern in all things. She knew well how to blend 
severity with kindness, and she knew also that public 
opinion is like a stream which requires damming at its 
source." 

Her attendants were delighted at this outburst, taking 
it to mean that Her Majesty looked forward to asserting 
herself after the manner of Tzu Hsi, when the time 
should be ripe. All the eunuchs kotowed, and " Little " 
Chang Yiian-fu expressed their sentiments, saying : 
" Your Majesty's resolve will bring happiness to the 
Empire and to your unworthy servants as well." Lung 
Yii beamed graciously, and the entertainment proceeded 
amidst general satisfaction. 

Following the example of her illustrious model, Lung 
Yii took early steps to secure control of the education 
of the yoimg Emperor, and was particularly careful to 
select, for attendance on the child, eunuchs v/ho should 
alienate his affection from the Regent and train him to 
recognise her own paramount authority. At the same 
time she complied faithfully with the traditions of ortho- 
doxy and Court etiquette in the following decree (10th 
July, 1911), which for platitudinous insincerity is on 
a level with Tzii Hsi's most classical effusions. It was 
issued, under her orders, by the Regent. 

*' The personal commands of Her Majesty the Empress 
Dowager, Lung Yii, to the Regent are as follows : 

"His Majesty, the Emperor, succeeded in tender 
KK 497 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

infancy to the goodly heritage and glorious patrimony^ 
of the Throne. He has now reached an age when wise 
training becomes needful, and it behoves him to enter 
upon his education in due time, so that he shall 
accomplish notable results and build up a solid foundation 
for his rule. 

" I command, therefore, that the Court of Astronomers 
shall select an auspicious day in the 7th Moon, for the 
Emperor to begin his studies in the Yii Ching Palace. 
I hereby appoint the Grand Secretary Lu Jun-tsiang, 
and the Vice-President Ch'en Pao-chen, as preceptors to 
His Majesty. They shall bestow instruction upon him 
early and late, and shall display their utmost diligence 
in sowing the fertile seed in his mind. It is incumbent 
upon them to impart in fullest detail the causes from which 
proceed good government or anarchy in ancient and 
modern times in every country of the worlds since this 
is essential to a sovereign's training, and they are to point 
the moral as circumstances may require. At the present 
time, when intercourse between all parts of the world 
is widely developed, and civilisation is ever advancing, 
it behoves them, above all, to inculcate a clear impression 
of the progress of constitutional government during its 
Brst few decades, anji. ,of the development of sound 
learning, especial stress being laid on the needs of the 
day. The highest examples must be selected and scrupu- 
lous attention given to detail, it being understood that 
the cardinal principle of Confucius shall be faithfully 
instilled, whereby the attainment of knowledge produces 
'sincerity and righteousness, and the cultivation of the 
moral nature leads to a state of ideal government. Thus 
shall a daily increase of virtue be imparted to his mind^ 
and thereby a good foundation bie_laidJor^-~perfect 
governance. 

" The Regent is to exercise a general superintendence 
over the Emperor's curriculum and the procedure in the 

498 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Yii-ching Palace. The Mancliu language, spoken and 
written, being inseparable from our Dynasty, I hereby 
appoint I-k'o-t'an, Deputy-Lieutenant-General-designate 
of a Banner, to bestow such instruction therein as may 
be requisite; of this also the Regent is to exercise a 
general control. The words of the Empress." 

A few weeks later we find Her Majesty taking steps 
to prevent the " illicit diversion of funds " from her 
Privy Purse. Her decree on this subject, preaching the 
gospel of " circumspect parsimony," bears an unmistak- 
able family likeness to those which Tzu Hsi was wont 
to issue in the heyday of her tumultuous and spend- 
thrift youth. The reference to building operations is 
particularly barefaced, inasmuch as Her Majesty was at 
the moment conniving, as will be shown, at enormous 
peculations by her Chief eunuch under this very heading. 
It reads as follows : 

" The Ministry of Finance has impeached the Comp- 
troller and staff of the Imperial Household for recording 
false and excessive accounts of expenditure incurred, and 
for conniving at illicit diversion of funds in connection 
with the Imperial Silk Factory at Hang-chou. Such 
conduct is grossly improper, and I hereby command that 
the officials concerned be referred to the Cabinet for 
determination of a penalty proportionate to the respective 
offenders' rank and position. 

" In addition, I hereby convey my severe rebuke to 
the Comptrollers of the Imperial Household for their 
gross lack of vigilance in the performance of their duties. 
Hereafter they are to examine all accounts of expenditure 
and of building operations with the most rigid and 
particular scrutiny, so as to conform with the earnest 
desire which animates me, in the profound seclusion of 
my Palace, to maintain in all things a circumspect 
parsimony. The words of the Empress." 

This ingenuous declaration of high principle was made 

499 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

in August 1911. Four months earlier, a certain Manchu 
Censor, named Ch'ing Fu, had expressed the sentiments 
of all who cared for the dignity of the Court, in an ex- 
tremely outspoken memorial, which laid particular stress 
on the notorious malpractices of the eunuch Chang 
Yiian-fu in connection with the contracts for building 
works and reoairs at the Palace. Abuses of this kind, 
exposing the incorrigible corruption of the Manchu 
regime, provided the revolutionary party in the South 
with arguments of a kind that appealed, far more than 
political ideals, to the man in the street. 

In this memorial the Censor said : " Whenever money 
is needed in the Palace, this eunuch Chang Yiian-fu actually 
dares to make direct requisitions on the Board of Finance 
and the Imperial Treasury, out of which he helps him- 
self freely. Quite recently he made an arrangement with 
three Manchus connected with the Works department 
of the Household for the rebuilding of the two Throne 
halls, the Hall of the Correct Mean and the Hall of the 
Empyrean, and another for the supply of musical instru- 
ments used in the Palace for sacrificial rites. The actual 
amount requisitioned was 490,000 taels in silver and 
30,000 taels in gold (say, £180,000). For repairs of the 
main hall of audience at the Palace of Heavenly Purity, 
he has received 570,000 taels, while for re-painting some 
of the Forbidden City's inner enclosures, no less a sum 
than 260,000 taels has been charged in the account. 
For repairs to the Palace drains, the sum of 7,000 taels 
was actually expended, but this eunuch has drawn 
80,000 taels from the Board of Finance on this account. 
For repairing the courts of the Palace, the Board of 
Revenue has paid over to him 1,200,000 taels. Not 
satisfied with these peculations, out of which he must 
have made at least 2,000,000 taels, he proceeded to 
rebuild the Palace of Perpetual Spring (which was in 
excellent repair). For this work the contract called for 

500 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

about 1,000,000 taels, but on the 26th of the 8th Moon 
of last year (September 1910), the Imperial Household 
memorialised the Throne that the Board of Finance 
should be ordered to pay over half as much again under 
this heading. To this memorial the Empress Dowager 
appended the rescript ' Noted.' 

" Now the fact is, that on this contract no more than 
300,000 taels were expended, so that the greater part of 
the balance of 1,200,000 taels has found its way into 
Chang's pocket. 

" Worse than all this, Chang has purloined many 
valuable pearls and precious stones from the Palace, the 
value of which amounts to millions of taels. He and two 
tradesmen named Li Lo-t'ing and Liu Pu-ch'ing have 
also opened numerous pawnshops and building yards. 
At a crisis like the present, when funds are so urgently 
needed for Army reform, and when the provincial budgets 
all show huge deficits, it^is passing strange that this all- 
powerful eunuch should be allowed to manipulate these 
large amounts at his own sweet will. I would humbly 
ask Your Majesty the Empress Dowager to issue a 
decree ordering the confiscation of all his ill-gotten gains, 
and the arrest and condign punishment of this baneful 
and iniquitous eunuch, in order that the National Treasury 
may receive an accession of much-needed funds." 

This memorial was suppressed, and Her Majesty ad- 
ministered a severe rebuke to the Censor. The eunuch's 
power and insolence were greatly increased by the 
incident ; he waxed fat and began to kick even the highest. 
Soon there were none at Court who dared oppose him, 
and even the Regent quailed before him. He became 
Lung Yii's inseparable and intimate companion, following 
her wherever she went. Shortly after his impeachment 
he made another large haul out of theatrical performances 
in the Palace. By his influence the compilation of the 
proposed Civil List was effectually blocked. Soon his 

501 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

fame spread, as that of Li Lien-ying had done before 
him, to every quarter of the city ; his Httle finger became 
thicker than the loins of his predecessor, so that in two 
years all men spoke of him with hatred and fear. In that 
time he amassed a fortune of about £1,000,000 out of 
Palace squeezes alone, and this is without reckoning 
bribes and " grants-in-aid " from officials. 

Li Lien-ying weakened visibly after the death of his 
mistress and protector; his proud spirit was broken 
and his stomach for fighting permanently deranged. 
He died on the 4th of March, 1911, at the age of sixty- 
nine, after two years of chronic dysentery. On the 
day of his death some of his most valuable pearls were 
stolen from his apartments by eunuchs of the Chang 
faction : they were subsequently claimed by a eunuch 
named Li Yi-ch'un on the plea that he was Li Lien-ying's 
foster son. Chang subsequently intrigued against him 
and secured his banishment for life, and the pearls are 
now in Chang's safe keeping, or were until the abdication 
of the dynasty. 

The extraordinary influence which this man rapidly 
established over the Empress Lung Yii, his unbounded 
presumption and haughty bearing, naturally led in his 
case to rumours similar to those which were widely circu- 
lated about the favourite companion of Tzu Hsi's halcyon 
days, the " false eunuch " An Te-hai. His antecedents 
were peculiar, for it was not till his eighteenth year that 
he " left the family " (to use the Chinese euphemism) 
and became a eunuch. Previous to that he had been 
married, and was the father of two children. When he 
came from Ho Chien-fu to Peking, in 1899, seeking 
employment in the Palace, he was quite without influence 
or friends, but was able to persuade one of his fellow- 
townsmen, a head eunuch, to employ him in a menial 
capacity. Being of extremely handsome appearance, a 
good musician and a first-class actor, he soon made his 

502 




K P-l 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

way to the front, and was eventually employed to wait 
at table upon Lung Yii, whom he accompanied to Hsi-an 
in 1900. 

His way of living lent colour to the rumours which 
reflected on the virtue of his Imperial mistress, for in 
1911 he kept up the establishment of a family man. 
Three of his chief clients in the building contract and 
stolen- jewellery businesses (of whom one was the shop- 
keeper Li Lo-t'ing, mentioned in the Censor's memorial 
above quoted) presented him during that year with three 
maidens of respectable parentage, whom they purchased 
in Tientsin for the purpose. No great importance need 
be attached to these facts, however, nor to the rumours 
thereby created, for such domestic arrangements are by 
no means unusual with the wealthier eunuchs at Peking, 
and may be regarded as " face-making " expedients. 

Of the enormous power and wealth which this individual 
gathered into his supple hands during the brief course of 
the Regency, there is no doubt. Towards the end he 
was, in fact, the Government of China. The semi-regal 
dignities which he assumed, his insolent attitude towards 
the highest Manchu and Chinese officials, had become 
a public scandal greater than anything Peking had known 
since the days of Ho Shen. As his career fittingly adorns 
the tale and points the moral of the Manchus' decline 
and fall, we make no apology for describing the most 
notorious of his achievements and habits. 

Before the Court mourning was over, with Lung Yii's 
knowledge and consent, he organised sumptuous theatrical 
entertainments at the Palace, a gross breach of piety 
and decorum. In the course of these entertainments an 
incident occurred which showed that the new Empress 
Dowager had studied her illustrious prototype to good 
effect, in that she regarded herself and her affairs as above 
the law. At this time the leaders of the Opium Abolition 
movement were displaying great activity in Peking and 

503 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Tientsin, and the Government was affording them moral, 
if not material, support in the form of decrees, regulations 
and Bureaus. In theory there were no opium smokers 
left, either in the Palace or in any public office. Now, 
the most famous actor and singer of North China was 
a man named T'an, nicknamed " The Heaven-compelling 
Singer " ; he was then sixty years of age, but still in full 
vigour and a confirmed opium smoker. Lung Yii had 
sent for him to give a command performance, but the 
summons, though thrice repeated, was ignored. The 
Ministers of the Household sent for him, intending to 
punish him for his contumacy, but T'an said to them : 
" I need an ounce of opium every day, as the craving is 
very strong, and without it I cannot sing a note. Now 
that officials have been forbidden to touch opium, how 
should an actor dare to break the law and smoke in the 
Palace? " The Ministers proceeded to consult Lung Yii, 
who said : " Let him have his opium in peace." She 
even signed a special decree, saying : " The actor T'an 
is permitted to enter the Palace and to smoke opium 
during the intervals between the acts." 

Lung Yii also imitated the Old Buddha in displaying the 
keenest interest in everything connected with her theatrical 
entertainments, and in her criticism of the performers. 
This criticism sometimes expressed itself in a manner 
which Europe has outgrown. On one occasion, for 
instance, the well-known actor Yang Hsiao-lou was 
performing an emotional piece, " The Long Mountain 
Slope," before Lung Yii and the Court. Her Majesty 
took umbrage at his lack of expression in delivering his 
lines and " at his failure to exert his best energies in her 
presence." She commanded the Chief eunuch (Chang) 
to have the actor chastised with forty strokes of the whip, 
after which he was to be expelled from the Palace pre- 
cincts and permanently struck off the list of Palace actors. 
It is true that there were many at Court who declared 

504 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

that his disgrace had nothing to do with his acting, but 
was due to his having failed to placate Chang with the 
usual " squeezes," in addition to which, he was a protege 
of the late Li Lien-ying. 

By dynastic houselaw, all building operations in the 
Forbidden City are supposed to be suspended during the 
period of mourning; yet Chang persuaded the Empress 
to sanction the expenditure of vast sums upon a large 
building in foreign style — the Yen Hsi Kung, or Palace 
of Continual Prosperity. For the construction of this 
inappropriate edifice, no official supervisors were ap- 
pointed, as precedent required. The estimates were 
all drawn up by Chang and carried out under his own 
supervision by the Yung Te (" Everlasting Virtue ") 
firm of contractors. The same firm was simultaneously 
engaged in the complete reconstruction of Chang's private 
residence, in the lane of the Temple of Supreme Felicity. 
The result was a Palace, fitted with camphor wood 
furniture and lacquer screens. The style of architecture 
(except that the roofs are not yellow) is identical with 
that used in the Ning Shou-kung, which in itself constitutes 
an act of Use majeste.^ His mansion was equipped 
throughout with electric light fittings taken from the 
Palace of Ceremonial Phoenixes, where Her Majesty 
Tzii Hsi died. Many curios were also taken from the 
same place, including the golden image of the Goddess 
of Mercy, four feet high, which was presented to the Old 
Buddha at Hsi-an. His garden also contained a famous 
jade fish-bowl, taken from the private Imperial garden 
in the North of the Forbidden City. The rockery was 
made as an exact replica of the one in the Palace, and six 
ornamental kiosques, of the Imperial design, were erected 
in the grounds. 

His residence was connected by a private telephone 
with Lung Yii's apartments in the Palace of Perpetual 
1 Vide, the impeachment of Ho Shen, swpra, p. 353. 
505 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Spring, which also constitutes Use majeste. His tables 
were covered with bronzes and sacrificial vessels removed 
from the Palace; many of them, no doubt, presents 
from the Empress to her favourite. 

He gave orders for the demolition of the Imperial 
studio, known as the " Studio of Long-Lived Upright- 
ness," and directed that all its fittings of camphor and 
black wood were to be deposited with the Yung Tc 
contractors, to be used in decorating a new wing of his 
own residence. 

As his hold over Lung Yii increased, so did he wax in 
insolence towards the Regent, who, towards the end of 
1911, was obviously afraid of him. On one occasion, 
when the Regent had ventured to remonstrate with him 
for removing Palace valuables, the eunuch produced 
Lung Yii's golden tablet and said : " Here is my 
authority." The Regent glared angrily and began to 
fume, whereupon Chang haughtily remarked : " Palace 
matters are not your business. When the Empress and 
I require your advice we will ask for it. Meanwhile, 
your apartments and your duties lie at the San So " (the 
Three Departments set aside for the Regent to the East 
of the Palace) : " what business brings you here? " 

In like manner, when Li Chia-chu was appointed Vice- 
Chancellor of th6 Senate, he put in a memorial denouncing 
the entire eunuch system as unworthy of a State with 
any pretentions to civilisation. Li had only recently 
returned from investigating the constitutional system of 
Japan. He himself felt no divine despair in this matter, 
but since he was obliged to put in a report of some sort, 
and to discuss changes desirable in the interests of the 
State, it would have been absurd not to attack the 
eunuch system, as to the evils of which all Chinese rulers, 
statesmen and moralists, have agreed for centuries. But 
Chang Yiian-fu was, none the less, exceeding wrath, 
and made no secret of his anger. One day, in April 1911, 

506 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

Li, having been summoned to audience, was sitting in 
the ante-chamber, awaiting his turn to be called to the 
Presence. Suddenly the Chief Eunuch, resplendent in 
sumptuous apparel, came in, and seating himself, without 
preliminary ceremonies, in the place of honour, addressed 
Li, de haiit en has : 

" We read your memorial advocating our dismissal," 
he said, " at which both Her Majesty and I are much 
displeased. What is it fills your head with these ideas, 
utterly opposed to all dynastic tradition?" Li, much 
embarrassed, replied : " Not at all : you misunderstand 
my meaning. I would not have any of you gentlemen 
lose your posts. All I have ventured to advise is that 
henceforward no more eunuchs should be engaged, so 
that the system might gradually die a natural death. 
You see, jiOL,.Qther - civilised State employs eunuchs, and 
China must come into line with the rest of the world in 
this matter. I hope that you may be pleased to co- 
operate with me in my humble efforts, and explain 
my views to Her Majesty, that she take not umbrage. 
If you oppose us, we shall never succeed." Chang 
replied : " The Empress is very wrath with you, and 
declares that you are interfering with Palace matters, 
which concern you not. Beware of meddling." With 
that Chang rudely shook his sleeve, and left the room. 

An incident occurred two months later which opened 
the eyes of the citizens of Peking, and forcibly brought 
home to them the fact that a new power had arisen in 
the Palace. Li Lien-ying, after many years, had chastised 
the mandarin world with whips of craftiness, but here 
was one who, almost at his first coming, chastised them 
with the scorpions of his contemptuous wrath. 

Every year, for fifteen days in the moon of June, a 
sort of horse show, with racing, is held just outside the 
Southern gate of the " Chinese " city of Peking. It is, 
or was, a fashionable resort at which most of the young 

507 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

bloods and sprigs of the Manchu aristocracy were wont 
to display themselves, either riding their pacers or watch- 
ing the sport. On these occasions brawls constantly 
occurred between the henchmen and followers of high 
officials, especially if local etiquette and the rules of the 
game were infringed. The sport was not exactly racing 
as the term is understood elsewhere : the track is narrow, 
lined by the spectators, and on it the riders display the 
paces of their fast trotters and amblers, amidst the plaudits 
of the crowd. It is more a parade than a contest of speed, 
and it is improper for one horse to pass another, except 
when the owners are on intimate terms. 

The Palace eunuchs always looked forward to this 
festival, which gave them an opportunity to show off 
their horses and mules in public. The crowd often 
included the most fashionable Manchu women and the 
elite of the gay world, so that to " lose face " at the 
" Nan Ting " (as the fair is called) meant a discomfiture 
from which a ruffling blade might never recover. 

In June 1911 the eunuch Chang Yiian-fu attended 
at this festival, accompanied by a faithful myrmidon 
named Shen (also a favourite with Lung Yu). He brought 
with him a large retinue of servants and four beautiful 
black mules, one of which was ridden by Shen. Chang 
himself looked on. Suddenly, as Shen was pacing down 
the track, a certain Tientsin man, named Wang, de- 
liberately raced past him. Shen, furious at this loss of 
face, ordered his servants to pull Wang off his horse. 
Nothing loth, they did so and belaboured him soundly, 
Chang all the while reviling him from the stand. In the 
midst of the disturbance Duke P'u Shan,^ who was 
sitting close to Chang, interposed. " We all know your 
power," said he, " but you will probably admit that 
a member of the Imperial family is not to be insulted. 

^ A great grandson of Chia-ch'ing and second cousin to the young 
Emperor. 

508 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

This man Wang is my friend. If you do not obtain an 
immediate apology from eunuch Shen, I shall complain 
to Prince Su " (Minister of the Interior). At this 
Chang laughed scornfully : " You had better complain 
to the Empress Dowager while you are about it," said 
he, " and I will give you something to complain for." 
Whereupon he called his satellites, who pulled Duke 
P'u Shan from off the stand and flogged him soundly with 
a horse- whip. The police, who up to this time had been 
standing by, deep in thought, with their hands in their 
sleeves (anxious to avoid getting into trouble with either 
party), now came up and besought the eunuch to spare 
the Duke, if only for their sakes — in a broil of this kind 
the police are always severely punished. Their officer, 
Yiian Te-liang, tried to patch up a peace; as the hour 
was late and the city gates would soon be closing, the 
eunuchs allowed the Duke to rise and depart, while they 
returned to the Palace, vowing further vengeance. 

On the following day they turned up at the races in 
force, supported moreover by about a hundred sturdy 
contractors' men from the firm of " Everlasting Virtue," 
all of whom were armed with carpenters' tools; the 
eunuchs carried staves. There was also an extra large 
muster of police on the scene, while Duke P'u Shan, 
burning to avenge the insult of the previous day, had 
brought a goodly number of Manchu retainers. There 
was, therefore, every prospect of an interesting meeting; 
but (as usual, when serious personal injury is likely to 
ensue) it first took the form of a fierce bandying of abuse 
between the parties, during which another Imperial 
duke came up and offered to mediate. He said he would 
apologise, in Duke P'u's name, for the latter's infringe- 
ment of etiquette, and he begged the three eunuchs to 
meet him and Duke P'u at dinner in a fashionable 
restaurant on the following evening, when the amende 
honorable would be formally concluded. To this the 

509 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

Chief Eunuch felt that he could agree without loss of 
dignity. P'u Shan then uttered a few words of grudging 
apology, in the presence of a huge crowd of spectators. 
Naturally the sole topic of conversation at Peking, for 
several days following this incident, was the power of 
the eunuch, against whom even a scion of the Imperial 
house was helpless. 

Duke P'u reported the matter in due course to Prince 
Su, who condoled with him on his loss of face, but 
frankly said he could do nothing. " Do you expect 
me to ask the Empress Dowager to dismiss Chang? 
She would be much more likely to dismiss you. Better 
stomach the affront, and avoid offending him for the 
future." 

But to return to the Regent. His troubles and diffi- 
culties were not all made for him in the Palace of Lung Yii. 
His own wife, the daughter of Jung Lu, gave him furiously 
to think. A woman of remarkable intelligence and inde- 
pendence of character, she has always inspired the Regent 
in his own home with a dull, steady kind of fear, harder 
to bear and more nerve- stretching than the swift slings 
and arrows of the late Empress Dowager. The Regent's 
wife is, indeed, one of the most remarkable results of the 
impact of the West in China — a woman who only awaits 
the coming of the illustrated halfpenny paper to fill the 
eye and cheer the heart of the Chinese public, and in 
other ways to emulate her vivacious and emancipated 
sisters, and the suffragettes of the Western world. Until 
the abdication of the Regent, she was everywhere and 
anywhere in Peking ; business, politics, society, the play — 
all felt her restless hand and knew her shrill voice. To 
the man in the street, who regarded her with open awe, 
as a strange manifestation of the latest ways of Providence, 
she was known as the " Eighth Married Sister," she being 
the eighth of Jung Lu's daughters. 

The Regent, as a prudent politician, was greatly 

510 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

troubled by many of his ^\■ ife's doings, by her extravagance, 
her lack of modest decorum, and her revolutionary 
ideas on the subject of the emancipation of women. 
These she emphasised, inter alia, by going to the theatre 
escorted only by her adopted brother, Liang K'uei, a 
notorious spendthrift and ruffling blade. She was always 
to be found at the Temple fairs, at the bazaars outside 
the city, at race meetings and fashionable restaurants, 
and, being known to the populace, was generally followed 
about by an admiring crowd. She was for ever frequent- 
ing the shops which sell European articles, and would 
run up reckless bills, leaving her husband or her brother 
to pay them. On one occasion, when the Regent had 
screwed his courage to the sticking point and rebuked 
her for frequenting the Chinese city without an escort, 
she replied : " European Empresses and Queens go about 
incognito wherever they choose, and I shall do the same. 
I do not ask you to accompany me." At the time the 
revolution broke out she was planning a trip to Shanghai 
— having heard much praise of the shops and theatres 
of the " Model Settlement " — and treated with the con- 
tempt they deserved her husband's suggestions of revolu- 
tionary attempts on her life. She is quite fearless, with 
the courage of a woman who has no time to think of danger. 
In her independence she resembles the proud, uncurbed 
spirit of the American woman. It is recorded of her, 
that even in her youth she was one of the few people 
who dared to answer the Old Buddha, and that, on one 
occasion, Tzu Hsi said to Jung Lu : " Your daughter is 
incorrigible; she defies every one, she defies even Us ! " 
Nevertheless, Tzu Hsi liked her, and arranged for her 
marriage with Prince Ch'un. The only person who could 
control and guide her actions during the Regency was her 
near relative, Kuei Chiin. 

Clearly the Regent's lot was not a happy one, and in 
judging the failure which he made of his little day of 

511 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

brief authority, allowance must surely be made for a man 
confronted on the one hand by Lung Yii, a woman of 
boundless ambition and power of intrigue, and, on the 
other, by the " mean one of his inner chamber," the 
excesses of whose frivolity he could neither anticipate 
nor check. 



512 



CONCLUSION 

Those who have followed the course of events in the 
Far East during the past two years, that is to say, since 
the ignominious collapse of the Manchu power and Young 
China's little hour of brief authority, must have been 
struck by the general, almost unanimous concurrence of 
opinion, expressed in Europe and America alike, that, 
with the establishment of a Republican form of govern- 
ment, China had undergone a sudden and radical trans- 
formation ; that the essential qualities of the people had 
been completely changed, and all its social and political 
institutions regenerated. Students of history and socio- 
logical science are familiar with this persistent and imper- 
ishable delusion. It arises, as Herbert Spencer has said, 
from " the difficulty of understanding that human nature, 
though indefinitely modifiable, can be modified but slowly ; 
and that all laws and institutions and appliances which 
count on getting from it, within a short time, results much 
better than present ones, will inevitably fail." It may 
fairly be said that missionaries in China and philanthropists 
generally are subject to this delusion as a matter of voca- 
tional necessity; that special correspondents cherish it, 
because a belief in new eras and dramatic transformation- 
scenes appeals naturally to the journalist, whose business 
it is "to see history in the making;" and that many 
politicians encourage it for purposes which have nothing to 
do with philanthropy. Every new political scheme that 
has ever been commended to a hopeful world, counts on 
the imperishable vitality of this Utopian fallacy, and on 
LL 513 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

the fact that it flourishes with particular vigour amongst 
those civiHsed nations whose habit it is to cloak the brutal 
realities of life with a tissue of more or less conventional 
ideals. 

The idea of changing the social structure of a race, 
not to say human nature, by virtue of the Republican 
form of government, is one of the commonest manifesta- 
tions of this perennial delusion. As applied to China, 
in her recent dynastic convulsion, it has been warmly 
welcomed by public opinion in Europe, and with even 
greater fervour in America, as heralding the dawn of a new 
and happy day in farthest Asia ; and this, in spite of the 
startling demonstration concurrently afforded by Mexico, 
of the instability of the structure upon which all such hopes 
are founded. The " unexampled felicity," which the Mon- 
roe doctrine declares to be the inheritance and reward of a 
Republican form of government, takes the form, in Mexico, 
as in China, of prolonged and aggravated misery for the 
masses, proving once more that despotic authority remains 
necessary for the maintenance of law and order amongst 
, > peoples incapacitated by their character and circumstances 
O,*^. from acquiring representative institutions. Remove that 
authority, for any reasons which are not slowly determined 
by the natural evolution of the race, and the result, as 
Mill says, must be another form of despotism — " a despot- 
ism, not even legal, but of illegal violence, which would 
be alternatively exercised by a succession of political 
adventurers and under which the names and forms of 
representation would have no effect but to prevent 
despotism from attaining the stability and security by 
which alone its evils can be mitigated and its few advan- 
tages realised." There is much food for thought in the 
difference between the American Government's attitude 
of to-day towards the Republic of China and that which 
it feels constrained to adopt towards the Republic of 
Mexico; nevertheless, and in spite of this remarkable 

514 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

illustration of the delusiveness of hopes based on the 
regenerative power of political formulae, we look in vain 
for signs, either at Washington or elsewhere, of recognition 
of the truth that " so long as the characteristics of citizens 
remain substantially unchanged, there can be no change in 
the political organisation which has slowly been evolved 
by them," ^ which is merely another way of saying that 
every people get the government it deserves, and that the 
sins of the fathers are visited on the children. 

These conclusions, which most students of sociology will 
draw from the present condition of affairs in China, and 
from the restoration of despotic authority in the hands of 
Yuan Shih-k'ai, follow naturally from the history of the 
country, not only during the period covered by the present 
work, but for many centuries before the overthrow of the 
Mongol dynasty. Yuan Shih-k'ai, if he lives, must 
govern China by methods very similar to those by which 
Porfirio Diaz gave stability and security to the govern- 
ment of Mexico. In other words, what was true of China 
when the Manchus first established their dynasty at 
Peking, remains true to-day. As General Shih K'o-fa 
said in 1644, " a supreme ruler is needed to inspire the 
nation with courage and patriotism; without one, no 
national spirit can exist. History has approved of this 
principle, and has recognised that in no other way can the 
fortunes of the State be preserved." ^ 

The daily life of the average educated European is so 
deeply affected by the political institutions which have 
been gradually evolved throughout the Western world; 
his material progress, which he has been taught to regard 
as a blessing, is so closely identified with political ideas 
and the laws which express them, that he is naturally 
disposed to be impressed by the surface phenomena of 
Young China's political activities and to attribute to them 

1 Spencer, Study of Sociology, Chap. VI. 

2 Vide supra, p. 181. 

LL 2 515 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

an importance far beyond anything that they inherently 
possess. It is true of China, as of India, Persia, and 
Turkey (and, for that matter, of Japan) that, on the surface 
of the deep sea of national life, rapid phenomena of dis- 
integration are perceptible, and new structures are forming ; 
but the social conditions of the masses and their incapacity 
for self-government remain at a stage generally similar to 
that which existed in Southern Europe before the Christian 
era. The average observer notes this fact, but he often fails 
to apply to sociological problems the laws of evolution. 

As to the question of the moral preferability of one or 
the other type of civilisation, the active European or the 
passive Oriental, there can be no doubt that the main con- 
currence of opinion (even amongst moralists) in European 
countries is all against the passive ideal inculcated by the 
founder of the Christian religion. With this aspect of 
the question we are not here concerned, further than to 
observe, that if the test of a civilisation be sought in the 
average individual's opportunities of happiness, the East 
may well dispute the moral superiority claimed by the 
West, and resent our satisfaction at the prospect of a 
Europeanised China. 

The principal conclusion which appears to be justified by 
these annals and memoirs, gathered from three centuries of 
Chinese history, is that it were folly to expect stability and 
efficiency from any political institutions in China which 
do not conform to the deep-rooted sentiments and tradi- 
tions of the masses. The most cursory study of the country's 
history should prevent us from mistaking superficial for 
fundamental phenomena. It may be, as a distinguished 
American professor has lately written after a tour of 
China, that " in forty years there will be telephones and 
moving picture shows and appendicitis and sanitation and 
baseball nines and bachelor maids in every one of the one 
thousand three hundred districts of the Empire."^ Remem- 
^ Prof. E. A. Ross, in The Changing Chinese, 1911. 
516 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

bering the similar prophecies of Mr. Anson Burhnghame 
(similarly inspired), forty years ago, we are content to wait 
and see, only hoping that China, protected by her poverty, 
may escape these undeserved calamities. But even if they 
must fall upon her, neither these, nor any other results 
of our triumphant materialism are likely to disturb, for 
many generations to come, the Oriental's attitude toward 
the things that matter; his conception of the purposes 
and relative values of existence; his views on birth, 
marriage, and death; all the fundamental truths and 
beliefs which constitute the inner life, the very soul of a 
people. It may gratify the Wisconsin Professor's bene- 
volent instincts to believe that " the renaissance of a 
quarter of the human family is occurring before our eyes, 
and we have only to sit in the parquet and watch the 
stage," because " nowadays world processes are telescoped 
and history is made at aviation speed," but all human 
experience and biological science proclaim, nevertheless, 
with one voice, that the racial instincts which find their 
expression in China's social and political systems can only 
be modified by a very slow process of evolution. If by 
"renaissance" we mean a complete change of the ethical 
ideals and traditional culture of a race, with whom reverence 
for the past has attained the force of instinct, if we look 
for a swift shedding of the accumulated experience of 
centuries, history (as contained in these Annals) forbids us 
to cherish any such comfortable fantasies. 

The history of China shows clearly that the greatest 
danger which can threaten the nation during its inevitably 
recurring crises of economic and political unrest, lies not 
in foreign invasions, nor even in alien rule, but in a weaken- 
ing of those ethical restraints, of that ancient moral 
discipline, upon which has rested the world's oldest 
civilisation ; of those qualities from which the race draws 
its unconquerable strength. The history of Japan and 
the wisdom of her Elder Statesmen proclaim the same 

517 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

truth ; if Dai Nippon has come safely thus far through her 
great perils of change, if she has been able to assimilate 
the material arts and crafts of the West and adapt them to 
her own needs, it is, as Lafcadio Hearn justly said, " be- 
cause under new forms of rule and new conditions of social 
activity, she could still maintain a great deal of the ancient 
discipline." It was imperative for Japan, as it is impera- 
tive for China, that great changes should be made, but it 
is equally imperative that they should be of a character 
which shall not endanger the foundations. 

Those who supported the inauguration of a Republican 
form of government in China, and believed in its practical 
utility, advocated something which seriously endangers the 
foundations, because it undermines the ethical basis of 
China's whole social system. The government which Yuan 
Shih-k'ai is administering at this moment is no more 
Republican than was that of Kublai Khan. He recognised 
instinctively, at the outset, as did Prince Ito in Japan, 
how vitally necessary is the preservation of the unbroken 
continuity of ancient traditions. He knows that all the 
instincts and experience of the race will accept his exercise 
of despotic authority, so long as his rule follows established 
precedent and conforms to popular sentiments and 
traditions. The annals upon which we have drawn reveal 
on every page the truth, that this people understands 
and accepts the government of a despot, whether his 
methods be benevolent or brutal, provided that he rule 
according to the patriarchal precedents of the Canons of 
the Sages. Let him, if he will, deck the surface of Chinese 
life with strange inventions from the West, but let him 
not disturb those silent depths wherein lie all the moral 
and social experience of the race. 

Of the Zeitgeist in Japan, where the outward and visible 
manifestations of materialism and commercialism have 
become so conspicuous, Hearn observed ten years ago : 

" It were a grave mistake to suppose that the ancestor- 

518 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

cult has yet been appreciably affected by exterior influences 
of any kind, or to imagine that it continues to exist merely 
by force of hallowed custom. No religion — and least of 
all the religion of the dead — could thus suddenly lose its 
hold upon the affections of the race that evolved it. 

L Even in other directions, the new scepticism is superficial ; 

" it has not spread downwards into the core of things." 

If this be true of Japan, the observation applies with far 
greater force to China. For, because of their religious 
and social training, the Japanese brought into the crisis 
of their contact with the West, virtues of patriotism, 
courage and loyalty, which the Chinese lack. To China 
remain those passive virtues which spring from the religion 
of ancestor worship, chief of which and most powerful 
as a factor of cohesion, is the sentiment of duty to the 
dead. It is this sentiment which invests the world's oldest 
civilisation with a philosophic dignity and elements of 
happiness that the West instinctively respects and envies ; 
with virtues which survive even when bereft of this 
world's goods. For the preservation of this sentiment, 
the unbroken continuity of ancient traditions, including 
the monarchical-patriarchal system of government, is 
evidently essential. Throughout the brief period of 
Chinese history with which we have dealt in this volume, 
the darkest hours of national humiliation and disaster have 
ever been lightened by the example of a minority, splendidly 
' faithful to the Canons of the Sages, and to their stoics' 

■tradition of courage and unselfish loyalty. Young China, 
pr at least that section of it which has acquired its 
learning and its inspiration from abroad, mocks at the 
Sages. The student class, full of the wind of new doctrines 
from Tokyo, Harvard and Edinburgh, would destroy in 
a day the splendid edifice of Confucian philosophy and 
replace it by jerry-built structures of its own vain imagin- 
ings, tenements all uninhabitable by the sons of Han. 
These, more than invading hosts, the soul of the people 

519 



ANNALS AND MEMOIRS OF 

fears and distrusts, not only because they would desert the 
old ways, but because their new ways have been weighed 
in the balance of morality and found wanting. Already, 
even at Canton, there are signs of the inevitable reaction, 
and portents of an orthodox revival. 

The Throne and the Court remain, therefore, necessary 
integral parts of China's social system and cult of ancestors. 
To these, sooner or later, the instinct of the race must insist- 
ently return. It was perception of this truth, that caused 
Li Hung-chang to support the Manchus in 1901, not because 
they were good, but because they were there, and because, 
in his opinion, no individual or family in China, without 
fighting a successful civil war, could command the respect 
of the people in measure sufficient to found a new dynasty. 
Whether Yuan Shih-k'ai will be able to command it 
remains to be seen, but every day increases his chances 
of success. In biding his time, he is conforming strictly 
to precedent, as established by the soldier-priest founder 
of the Ming dynasty. He has made no secret of his 
contempt for the Republican mirage, which for him means 
" the instability of a rampant democracyj of dissension and 
paxtiiion." In these sentiments, he has not only the 
support of the literati^ but the inarticulate approval of the 
masses. He realises that China's best hope lies, not in a 
sudden revolutionary destruction of the old order, but in 
slow steady growth, by educative processes, which shall 
enable the nation to adapt itself gradually to its changed 
environment. He knows that, whether as a sovereign 
State, or under foreign dominion, the unconquerable 
vitality of China, long tested in the crucible of time, lies 
in the moral qualities of her common people, in the 
unconscious heroism of a race of cheerful toilers, in the 
enduring qualities of body and mind which have preserved 
the soul of this nation steadfast and undismayed through 
countless generations. Itjs a people which, as Sir Robert 
Hart once said^ ".believes in right so firmly, jthat„ they 

520 ^ 




I 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

^corn to think it requires to be enforced by might" ; 
a people which has often led captivity captive and will do 
so again, because it has retained that elemental Christian 
virtue which refuses to regard material advantage as the 
be-all and end-all of existence. " The thoughts of the 
heart, these are the wealth of a man," says the Sage. 

The rough outline, contained in these annals, of that 
period of China's history which leads up to her first 
relations with the Western world, should enable the reader 
to form a general idea of the economic and political 
problems created by her ancient social system, of the 
forces which have rough-hewed the character of the 
people. In order to understand the problems which 
perplex the nation to-day, it is necessary that we should 
approach them with sympathetic knowledge of its religious 
and sociological evolution. To this end, the voice of 
Young China helps us but little, for Young China is 
morally an alien in its own land ; some huiidreds or thou- 
sands of foreign degrees taken by its students cannot 
alter the fact that the Chinese people remains in the patri- 
archal stage of development. It is unfortunate that Young 
China (like Young India), being highly vocal, should have 
commanded so wide an audience and inspired so many 
illusions abroad, that superficial disintegration should 
have been so widely interpreted to imply a vast upheaval 
of the depths; because Young China, imbued with an 
exaggerated sense of its own importance, becomes a danger 
to itself and to the nation. Those who have followed the 
history of the Ming and Manchu dynasties in their de- 
cline and fall, must realise that this is true; and that 
socially, morally and economically, the Chinese race, so 
long a law unto itself, remains much the same to-day as 
it was a thousand years ago. Even Young China, as 
represented by its fiercest iconoclasts, unconsciously fulfils 
the laws which ages of moral experience have written deep 
in the heart of the race. Bravely it parades its foreign 

521 



THE COURT OF PEKING 

clothes and foreign ideas from platform and press, but in 
the privacy of its home, in the market place and even in 
its foreign-built government offices, it yields atavistic 
allegiance to those laws of its inheritance which it can never 
evade, to authority of traditions from which it can never 
escape. As has been finely said,.in China ''^ law is noLJi 
rule imjgiosed from above, it is the formula oj the national 
life, and its embodiment in -practice ^precedes its inscription 
on a code. Hence it is that in China, government is neither 
arbitrary nor indispensable. Destroy , our ^authorities, 
central and provincial, and our life will proceed very much 
as before. Come what may, the family remains, with. Ml 
that it involves, the attitude of mind remains, the spirit of 
~drdez,~ industry and thrift. These it is that rnake u/p 
China.^^ 



522 



INDEX 



r 



ABBi: Hue, Travels in Tibet, cited, n. 

333, n. 399 
Abbot of T'ien Tai temple, 237; also 

vide Shun Chih 
Abtai, Prince, 155, 242^5 
Alexander I of Russia, 236 
Alexander VII, Pope, 223 
A-Lu-te, Empress, 420-22, 468, 469, 477, 

478 
Amherst Mission, 381 ef seq. 
Amin, Prince, 144 
" Anhui Official, An," Chinese annalist, 

474 
An Te-hai, Chief Eunuch, 420, 477, 490, 

502 
Aomen (Macao), foreign traders* base for 

Canton, 327 et seq. 
Ao Pai, Regent, 219, 242, 243, 257 
Aristotle's sacrifice to Hermias cited, 18 
Astrologers and soothsayers, 40, 226 
Astronomers, Court of, 44, 106, n. 244, 

498 

Banners, Manchu, institution of, 139, 

150, 359 
Benedict XIII, Pope, 307, 308 
Board of Ceremonies, 279 
Board of Punishments, 76 
Board of Regents, 242 
Board of Rites, 273 
Bocca Tigris, bombarded, 400 
Book of Rites, quoted, 178 
Borjikin, Empress, 242, n. 256 
Borjikitu, Lady, 162, 231, 242, n. 475 
" Bom out of Time," Chinese Annahst, 

quoted, 230-32, n. 297, 490 et seq. 
Bouvet, Joachim, 240, 243 
Boxer indemnity, n. 367 
Boxer leaders, 443, 448, 449, 459, 463 
British at Canton, 391 
British embassies to China, 311, 320 et 

seq., 381 et seq. 
British trade in China, 311, 322, 326, 

327, 381 
merchandise, duties on, 329 



Brothers of Yung Cheng, 269 et seq. 

titles restored by Ch'ien Lmig, 301 
Buddhist All Souls' Day, 424 
Buddhist arts of incantation, 346 
Building operations in Palace, 500 et 

seq., 505 
Burmese King, 218 

Canon of Histoby, quoted, 39, 390 
Canons of the Sages, 184, 185, 214 
Canton, blockaded, 399 

European trade at, 311, 325 
Censorate, the, 57, 65, 351, 391 

suicide of President of, 109 
Chahar Mongols, 145 
Chang Ch'ai, 448 et seq. 
Chang Chih-tung. n. 303, 438 
Chang Chin, 30 et seq. 
Chang Fu, 463, 464 
Chang Hsien-chung, 94 
Chang Kuo-chi, 60, 63, 67 
Ch'ang Lo, Prince, 47 et seq., also vide 

Emperor Kuang Tsung 
Chang Ming-ti, 262, 265 et seq. 
Chang Te, Emperor, 24 et seq. 
Chang Yin-huan, 430 
Chang Yiian-fu, Chief Eunuch, 496, 

497, 500 et seq. 
and horse-show brawl, 508, 509 
and Regent, 501 
insolence of, 503 et seq. 
quarrel with Li Chia-ohu, 506, 507 
residence of, 505 
Cheng, Concubine, 47-52, 55 
Cheng Kuo-tai, brother of Concubine 

Cheng, 48 
Cheng, Prince. co-Regent with Dorgun, 

158 
Ch'eng, Prince, elder brother of Chia 

Ch'ing, 349. 365, 368, 376, 412, 413, 

418 
Ch'eng Te, 373, 374 
Ch'en Hsin-chia, 148, 149, 154 
Ch'en, Lady, the " Round-faced Beautj'," 

120-22 



523 



INDEX 



Ch'en Liang-mi, 111 

Ch'en Yen, 107 

Chia Ch'ing, Emperor, 311, 322 

and Ho Shen, 345, 346, 349 et seq. 

and Amherst Mission, 381 et seq. 

character of, 336, 361, 373 

conspiracies against, 373 et seq., 478 

death of, n. 350, 390 

decrees, 347. 350, 359 et seq., 360, 361, 
370, 375, 377, 379, 382, 385 
Chia Ch'ing's sister, 359 
Chiang Hsiang, 96, 97 
Chiang Te-ying, 97 
Ch'ien Lung, Emperor, 18, 59, 138, 234 

abdication of, 310, 345 

and Ho Shen, 344 et seq. 

and Macartney Mission, 321 et seq. 

and Stranger Concubine, 341 

campaigns, 310 

character of, 310, 334 et seq. 

death of, 347 

devotion to the chase, 334 

domestic affairs, 334 

escapades, 338 

his heir, Sll et seq. 

letter to George III, 331 et seq. 

restores titles to sons of K'ang Hsi, 
301 
Ch'ien Men quarter, 420 
Chihli, Manchu raid into, 144 
Chi Lu, 441 

China Under the Empress Dowager, 
referred to, 9, 409, 417, 419, 423, 
437, 442, 466 
Ch'ing, Prince, n. 365, 446, 447, 450, 456 
Ching Fu's memorial, 500 
Ching Shan, 466 
Ching Tai, Emperor, 438 
Chinese poetry, 316 
Chinese social system, 14 
Chinese women debarred from entering 

Forbidden City, 475 
Ch'i Hsiu, 412, 447 
Chin Tartars, 150, 181 
Ch'i Shan, 399 et seq. 
Chi T'an-jan, 218 
Chou Yii-chi, 95, 96 
Christianity in China, 330 

conversion of Princes. 247, 273 

Jesuits at Court of K'ang Hsi, 241 

Palace missionaries forbidden to hold 
intercourse with Chinese, 330 

practised by Imperial clans women, 221 
Chu Chih-fene, 98, 99 
Chu Kuei, 331 

Ch'ung Chen, Emperor, 82, 92 et seq., 
187 



Ch'ung Chen (continued) 

death of, 103 

burial of, 104, 105, 154 
Chung Ch'i, 420, 422 
Chung Hou-so, taken by assault, 158 
Chung Li, 458 

Ch'un, Prince, Regent, n. 302, n. 303, n. 
433, 493, 494, 497, 501, 510 

and Chang Yiian-fu, 501, 506 

his wife, 610, 511 
Ch'un, Princess, 473, 491 
Chusan, British request for island near, 

328 
Ch'u Tsung, 278 
Chii Yen-kuan, 99 

Chu Yiian-chang, 23, n. 135, 220, 224 
Civil service, 18, 390 
Civil service examinations, 410 et seq., 427 
Coal Hill, 101, 276, 300, 301 
Confucian philosophy, 14, 109, 167, 498 

tradition, 15 
Confucius quoted, 181, 345, 350 

grave of, 82 
Constitutional government, 498 
Coup d'etat of 1898, 430, 436, 437 
Court, profligacy of, 187 
Court of Astronomers, 44, 100, 498 
Court of Imperial Clan, 275, 418 

Dalai Lama, 320, 321, 352 
Decapitation, etiquette of, 418 
Degenerate Manchus, 372, 444 et seq. 
Department for Tributary States, 323 
De Toqueville, quoted, 14 
Diary describing sack of Yang Chou-fu, 

188 et seq. 
Diary of Ching Shan, 466 
Diary of Manchu official, 443, et seq. 
Dice-throwing, 243, 244 
" Discerning Concubine,'* 421, 477 
Dominicans and Jesuits, 240 
Dominic, Father, 222 
Dorgun, Prince Jui, Manchu Regent, 85, 
104, 132, 147, 157, 159, 168, 213 

appoints himself Generalissimo, 158 

becomes Regent, 157, 158 

correspondence with Wu San-kuei, 128- 
31 

death of, 233 

defeats Li Tzu-cheng, 131 

enters Peking, 127 

his march from Shan Hai-kuan to Chin 
Chou, 127 

posthumous degradation, 233, 242 

receives Ming officials, 127 
Dorgun, restitution of honours by Ch'ien 
Lung, 234 



524 



INDEX 



Dutch in China, 86 
Duties on merchandise, 329 
Dynastic ordinances, 334 

Eastebn Court, 68 

East India Company, 381, 385 

EcHpses as omens, 318 

Edict of Toleration, 240 

Eleuths, subjugation of, 253, 281 

Elliott, British Commissioner, 400 

Ellis's Journal, quoted, 382, n. 383, n. 

386 
Empress Consort of Ch'img Chen, 102 
Empress Helen, 222 
Eunuchs, Palace, 

and Government appointments, 430 

Christians, 222 

conspire against Chia Ch'ing, 378 et seq. 

factions of, 496, 508 

in command of military forces, 100 

power at Court, 17, 24, 46, 56, 100, 141, 

268, 406 
power reduced by Shun Chih, 232 
system denounced by Li Chia-chu, 

506 
tortured and beheaded by Li Tzu-cheng, 

116 
under Yung Cheng, 306 
European civilisation compared with 
Oriental, 14 
artillery, 145, 158, 173 
merchants not allowed to enter city of 

Canton, 329 
missionaries compelled to adopt 

Chinese dress, 323 
forbidden to leave China, 323 
Europeans classed with actors and sooth- 
sayers, 294 
Examinations, civil service, reorganised 
by Chu Yiian-chang, 23 
classical, revised by Shvm Chih, 229 
for public service, 410 et seq., 427 

Fall of Peking, 166 

Fang Tsung-che, 50 et seq. 

Fan Wen-ch'eng, 127, 159 

Fei, handmaiden at Palace, 103 

Fontaney, Jean de, 240 

Fortune-tellers and astrologers, 44, 135, 

262 
Fu Ch'ang-an, 349, 357 et seq. 
Fu K'ang-an, n. 332 
Fu Lin, Prince, son of Emperor T'ai 

Tsung, became Emperor Shun Chih, 

231 
Fu, Prince, son of Lady Cheng, 48, 55, 

60 



Genealogy of House of Gioeo, 161 
Gerbillon, Jean Francois, 239, n. 244 
Ghoorkas of Nepal, 320, 332, 333 

ask aid of Great Britain, n. 333 
Gioro, Genealogy of House of, 161 

alleged illegitimate descent of, 230, 
232 
" Goddess Chang,'' 79, 83 
Gordon and the " ever -victorious army," 

422, 423 
Grand Council, 101 
Grave of Confucius, 82 
Great Wall, 113, 143 
" Green Monkey " singing girl, 458 
Grimaldi, Philippe, 240 

Hall of Iiviperial Longevity, 237, 291 
Hanlin Academy, 25, 45, 258 
Hara-kiri, Chinese influence in origin of, 

n. 109 
" Harrier Prince," nickname of Li Tzu- 
cheng, 166, 175, 183 
Heavenly Principles Society, 378 
Heavenly Reason Society, 373 
Heng Yi's reminiscences of Boxer Year, 

453 
Hermias, eunuch Governor of Atarnea, 

18 
Histoire Generate de la Chine, Pere 

Mailla's, n. 239, n. 305 
Ho Lin, commander in Tibet, 320, 321 
Honan-fu, siege of, 88 
Hongkong, ceded to Britain, 395 
Hongs, foreign, at Canton, 326 et seq. 
Ho Shen, Grand Secretary, 18, 311, 319, 
321, 373, 503 

career of, 345 et seq. 

collection of curios, 366 

death of, 358, 369 

disgraced, 349 

his pearls, n. 353 

indictment of, 350 et seq. 

investments of, 366 

origin of, 344 

power and wealth, 344, 364 et seq. 
Ho Shen's faction and anti-dynastic 

societies, 394 
Ho Shih-t'ai, 387, 389 
House laws of Manchus, 41, 230, 232, 248, 

312, 349, 435, 475, 476, 505 
House laws of Mings, 52, 56, 65 
Hsiang. Prince, 89 
Hsieh Fu-chen, Dr., 481, 483 
Hsien Feng, Emperor, 403, 470 et seq. 

accession of, 405 

character of, 405, 409 

death of, 418, 422, 473 



525 



INDEX 



Hsin, Prince, brother of Emperor Hsi 
Tsung, who succeeded him as Em- 
peror Ch'ung Chen, 79, 80 
Hsi-ning, Yiin Tang's mission to, 275, 

_ 278, 279 
Hsi Tsung, Emperor, 55 et seq. 
Hsing Ching, Nurhachi's capital, 140 
Hsiung, Ming general, 141, 142 
Hsiian-hua, 37, 94, 98 
Hsiian Tsung, Emperor, 24 
Hsiian T'ung, Emperor, 225, n. 353 

education of, 497 et seq. 

parentage of, 493 
Hsii Ching-ch'eng, 455 
Hsii Ch'ing-yu, 449, 450 
Hsii T'ung, 443, 447, 449, 450, 459 
Hsii Yung-yi, 455, 459 
Huai River, 187 
Huang Hsing, 225, 226 
Huang Taiki, fourth son of Nurhachi, 143 
Huang Te-hung, Marquis, 189 
Huang Ts\m-su, 73 
Hung Ch'eng-chou, 173 
Hung Fu-lien, 425 
Hung Kuang, Emperor, 184, 215 
Hung, " the Heavenly King,'* 424 

I-CHiANG-A, 354 et seq. 

I-k'o-t'an, 499 

Imperial cedar-wood, used in Palace, 352, 

362 
Imperial Clan, 236, 311, 443 
Imperial Clan Court, 289 
" Imperial Clansman, An,'' Annalist, 462 
Imperial mandates to King of England, 

322, 325, 382 
Imperial mausoleum, 104 
Imperial pearl, 242, n. 353 
Italy, mission to Chinese Court, 324 

Jade sceptres, 381 

Japanese samurai tradition, 109 

Jehol, Court at, 311 

reception of British Embassy at, 321 
Jen, Concubine, 67, 84, 85 
Jesuit priests, 221 

and Manchu Princes, 273 

dissensions between Jesuits and Do- 
minicans, 240 

Edict of toleration, 240 

expulsion of, 273, 307 

introduce European guns, 95, 141, 145, 
173 

introduce quinine at Court, 240 

their zeal leads to persecution, 241 

under K'ang Hsi, 239-41 

under Yung Cheng, 307 



Job, quoted, 12 

" Journey Eastward, A," play cited, 137 
Jui Ch'eng, n. 399 
Jui, Prince, vide Dorgun. 
Ju-ji sceptres, 356 

Jung Lu, 420, 448, 450, 459 et seq., 467, 
471, 481, 493 

K'ai Feng-eu, siege of, 90 

recovered for Mings, 170 
K'ang Hsi, Emperor, 132, 133, 234 

abolishes semi-independent vassaldoms, 
134, 158 

addicted to drinking bouts, n. 292 

and Jesuit Fathers, 237, 247 

death of, 269, 270 

deposition of Heir Apparent, 249-62 

dismisses Regents, 242 

his wars, 241 

homily to Ministers, 252-55 

obsequies of, 277, 280 

persecutes Christians, 241 

reign of, 238, 239 

rumoured conversion to Christianity, 
241 

sons of, 245-68 

succeeds Shim Chih, 235 
Kang Yi, Boxer politician, 443, 447 etseq., 

451, 452, 459, 462 
K'ang Yu-wei, 230, 436 
Kao, Empress, 114 
Kao Ti, General, 143 
Keyte, J, C, work cited, 209 
Khorchin Mongols, 146, 158, n. 256, 276 
Kiakhta, Russian trade at, 328 
Kings of Korea, become vassals of 

Manchu Emperor, 147 
Kitchen God, 335 
Koffler, Andrew Xavier, Jesuit, attached 

to Ming Court, 222 
K'o, Madame, 56 et seq. 
K'o, Prince, 446 
Korea, Prince Amin's expedition to, 144 

invasion of, 146 

refuses to recognise T'ai Tsung, 146 

subjugated, 147 

T'ai Tsung's campaign against, 143 
Kowtow, ceremony of, 321, 331, 382, 383, 

386 
Kuai Tzu, philosopher, 113 
Kuang Hsii, Emperor, alleged origin of, 
491 

character of, 429 

confined to Ocean Terrace, 440 

death of, 439, 469 

defies Tzii Hsi, 432 

his mean apartment, 439 



4 



526 



INDEX 



Kuang Hsii, last request to Old Buddha, 
439 

Kuang Hui, 386-89 

Kuang Tsimg, Emperor, 52-4 

Kublai Khan, 23 

Kuei Chiin, 611 

Kuei Wang, last of the Mings, 167, 213 ; 
(Reign title Yung Li), 
death of, 220, 221, 223 
flight into Burma, 213, 214 
letter to Wu San-kuei, 215-19 

Kung, Prince, 419, 434, 435, 472 

Kung Yi, 220, 221 

Kung Yung-ku, 100 

Le Comte, Louis, 240 

Lhasa, 320, 321 

Liang Kuei, 511 

Liao Shou-keng, 459, 460 

Liao Yang, fall of, 142 

Li Chang-shu, 452 

Li Chia-chu, 506 

Li Chien-t'ai, Grand Secretary, 92, 93, 97 

Lien Shan, 455 

Lien Yiian, 458, 462, 463 

Li Hsiu-ch'eng, Taiping leader, 423 et seq. 

his letter to Hung, 424 

his record of Taiping rebellion, 424 

his son, n. 424 
Li Hung-chang, 450, 452, 453 
Li Hung-tsao, 434, 435, 476, 478 et seq. 
Li K'o-shao, 54 
Li Kuo-chen, 116 
Li Kuo-pu, Grand Secretary, 78 
Li, Lady, 52 et seq., 68 
Li Lien-ying, Chief Eunuch, 429, 433, 437, 
439, 463, 473, 483, 490, 496, 507 

and Government appointments, 430 

death of, 502 

his pearls stolen by Chang Yiian-fu, 502 
Lin Ch'ing's conspiracy, 378 
Lin Chi-shih, 25 et seq. 
Ling Yi-ch'iin, suicide of, 110 
Lin Hsii, reformer, 436, 437 
Lin Tse-hsii, Viceroy of Canton, 395, 397 

his despatch to Queen Victoria, 396 
Li, Prince, 462 
Li Shan, 455, 457, 458 
Li Tai-po, poems of, 16 
Literary examinations, 40 et seq. 

tradition, 15 
Literati, 236, 301 
Li Ting-kuo, freebooter, 214 
Li Tzu-cheng, 

alliance with Wu San-kuei, 114, 123 

ascends Imperial Throne, 107 

assumes Imperial title, 114 



Li Tzd-cheng {continued) 

defeated by Dorgun, 131, 132 

defeated by Wu San-kuei, 119, 123 

ends days as Buddhist priest, 116, 117 

enters the city, 104, 106 

flight to Hunan, 116 

his political genius, 107 

his tomb, 117 

punishes Palace eunuchs, 115 

rebellion of, 24, 82 et seq., 86 et seq. 

104 et seq., 148 
takes Peking, 99 

Liu Cheng, eunuch, 28, 49 

Liu K'un-yi, Nanking Viceroy, 433, 492 

" Liu, Mysterious," eunuch, 484 

Liu Tsung-min, 121 

Liu Wen-pin, 486 et seq. 

Liu Wen-ping, Marquis, death of. 111 

Liu Yi-ching, Grand Secretary, 54 

li Yen, rebel chief, 83, 84 

Lou Te-na, 258 

Lung K'o-to, 269, 271, 282. 285, 291, 292, 
305 

Lung Yii, Empress, 225, 242, 353, n. 421, 
493 et seq., 497 et seq. 
and Eunuch Chang Yiian-fu, 496, 501 

et seq. 
death of, 495 

" squeezes '' in building operations; 499 
theatrical entertainments, 504 

Lu Pin, Prince, 290 

Lu Po-yang, 430, 431, 433 

Macao, banquet at, in honour of Ming 

Envoys, 222 
Macao, Portuguese at, 221 
Macartney Mission, 311, 320 et seq., 344, 

382 
Ma Chang-hsi, 478 
Magic and spells, 451 
Mahomedan mosque, 340 
Mailla, Pere, author of Histoire Generate 

de la Chine, n. 239, n. 305 
Manchu invasion, 84 

capture of Wuchang, 116 

dynasty's Eastern tombs, 156 

etiquette, 355 

expedition to Korea, 144 

house laws, 41, 230, 232, 248, 312, 349, 

435, 475, 476, 505 
march on Peking, 113 
Prefect at Tamsui, 378 
Princes, 335, 443 ; degeneration of, 444 

et seq. 
Princes and Wu San-kuei, 132 
raid in Chihli, 144 
rulers and eunuchs, 17 



527 



INDEX 



Manohus massacred by Chinese, 209 
Market days in Forbidden City, 50 
Market fair, 335 
Ma Shih-ying, 168, 170, 172 
Massacre of Chinese by Manchus, 195 

of Manchus by Chinese, 209 
Mencius quoted, 302, 319 
Metropohtan Museum, New York, n. 367 
Mien Ning, Prince, son of Chia Ch'ing, 

became Emperor Tao Kuang, 375 
Military organisation, 18, 390 
Ming Heir Apparent, 97, 100, 101, 107, 
121, 122, 124, 166 

mission to Vatican, 222 

nobles squeezed, 116 
Mings at Nanking, 84, 167, 168 

last of the, 104, 106, 137, 235 
Missions to Chinese Court from Portugal 

and Italy, 324 
" Model Beauty, The," 341 et seq. 
Mongol Empire, finally shattered, 23 

Princes' tribute, 250 

smallpox amongst, 352 
Mongol Tushetu Khan, 157 
Mongolian Superintendency, 277 
Mongolia subjugated by T'ai Tsung, 143 
Moukden, 142 
Mu Ch'ang-a, Grand Secretary, 391, 395 

et seq., 401 
Mu Ching-yuan, European, at Court of 

Yung Cheng, 299 
Mu Yung-a, 242 

Nanking, sack of (1913), 12 

fall of, 406, 425, 428 
Napier, Lord, 385 
Nepal campaign, 320, 321, 332, 333 
Ning, Prince, 32, 33 

Ning Yiian, last of the Ming strongholds, 
112 

defence of, by Wu San-kuei, 118, 143, 
148, 154 
Nurhachi, 217, 225 

appointed Warden of the Marches, 138 

assumes dynastic name of Manchu, 140 

declares war on China, 140 

his army, 139, 143 

his capital at Hsing Ching, 140 

his capital at Moukden, 142 

organises tribes under four banners, 139 

rise of, 86, 138 

ruler of five Manchu tribes, 139 

" Ocean Terrace,** 437, 440 
Odes, Booh of, quoted, 474, 477 
Omens and portents, 43, 87, 88, 224, 243, 
244, 318, 400 



Opium abolition, 395, 503 
Orientals, jealousy of, 242 

Pa Chung, General, n. 333 
Palace actors, 487, 502, 504 

Amazons, 475 

concubines, 60, 406 

pearls, 501 

of Prince Hsiao, n. 365 

of Tranquil Longevity, 362 
P'an Achilles, Chief Eunuch of Empress 
Helen, 222 

in command of land and sea forces of 
Mings, 223 
Pang Pao, eunuch, 48, 49 
Panshen Lama, n. 233 
P'an Tsu-yin, 469 
Pao Tai, Resident at Lhasa, n. 333 
Parker, E. H., work cited, 223 
Peace Protocol ( 1 901 ), 449 
Pearl Concubine, 440, 468, 495 
Pearl necklaces, 353, 363, 369, 370 
Peking Court Gazette, 293 
Peking Oendarmerie, 338, 509 
Peking horse show, 507 
Pereira, Anthoine, 239 
Pescadores, seizure of, by Dutch, 86 
Ping Ling, 411 et seq. 
Pi Ting-ho, 444 
Pi Yiin-ssii, 75 
Poison, use of, 81, 134, 166, 246, 464, 483, 

484. 487, 489 
Polygamy, 13 et seq., 245, 270 
Portuguese in China, 

aid Mings, 141 

at Macao, 221 

language used by Princes, 307 

Mission to Chinese Court, 324 

supply Mings with cannon, 145 
Po Sui, Grand Secretary, 409 et seq. 

execution of, 414^17 
Pottinger, Sir H., 395 
Precious Pearl, Empress, 59 et seq. 

death of, 82-5 
President Yuan Shih-k'ai's Palace, n. 341 
Price of eggs, 337, 490 
Priesthood, Shun Shih's regulations for 
entering, 229 

not reverenced by literati, 236 
Princedom of Jui re-established, 234 
Prophecies, 224, 225 
P'u Shan, Duke, 508 et seq. 
Pu Ying-ch'i, 427, 428 

Random Notes from the Chamber of the 

Cloudy Sea, 469 
Ransom for Proscribed Mings, 109 



528 



INDEX 



Rebellions against Manchus, 347, 373 
Reformers, 436 
Regents, Board of, 242 

harsh treatment of Jesuits, 242 
Regents, Prince Abtai, 242-45 

Ao Pai, 219, 242, 243, 257 

Prince Ch'un, n. 302, n. 303, n. 433, 
493 et seq. 
Regents, usurping, 418, 470 

dismissed by K'ang Hsi, 242 
Regency, Joint, of Prince Clieng and 
Dorgun, 158 

of Tzu Hsi and Tzu An, 419, 495 
Republic, the, 442 
" Restore the Mings,'* battle cry of Tai- 

pings, 221 
Ricci, 221 

Ritual of mourning, 271 
Roman Catholic religion, 221, 272 et seq. 
"Round-faced Beauty,'* 120, 122, 125; 

also vide Lady Ch'en. 
Russian merchants at Peking, 327, 328 
Russian trade at Kiakhta, 328 

Sages, teachings of the, 141 

San Ku-niang, literary courtesan, 338, 339 

Schall, Adam von, 242 

Secret Societies, 373, 378 

Shanghai Taotaiship, 430 

Shan Hai-kuan, 95 

siege of, 113 
Shen, Eunuch, 508 
Shih, alleged paramour of Tzu Hsi, 490, 

491 
Shih K'o-fa, General, 168, 188, 189, 207 

his memorial, 169, 170 

correspondence with Manchu Regent, 
174r-84 

death of, 174 
Shou Fu, 464 et seq. 

Shun Chih, Emperor, 138, 157, 158, 160, 
229 

alleged to have joined priesthood, 236, 
237 

birth, 231 

character of, 229, 232 

curtails power of eunuchs, 232 

death of, 235 

marriage, 234 

reputed illegitimacy, 230 
Shun (Obedient), title of Li Tzu-ch'eng's 

rebel dynasty, 121 
Sianfu, sack of Tartar city, 209 
" Signs of a Decaying Dynasty," 443 et 

seq. 
Singing-girl and Wu San-kuei, 119; also 
vide " Round-faced Beauty.** 



Sister Phoenix, 37 et seq. 

Smith, Dr. Arthur, work quoted, 225 

Song of the Cakes, quoted, 224, 226 

Soochow, fall of, 424 

Soothsayers and fortime- tellers, 40, 226 

Spirits and omens, 43, 44 

Spring and Autumn Annals, quoted, 174, 

178, 265 
State seal of Mongol dynasty, 146 
Staunton, Sir George, cited, 311, 319, 

n. 320, 321, n. 386 
" Stranger Concubine,'* 341 et seq. 
Su, Prince, Minister of the Interior, 509, 

510 
Su, Prince, son of Emperor T'ai Tsung, 

145, 157 
Suicide of two hundred women of the 

Palace, 103 
Sungaria, campaign in, 340 
Sung Ch'i-chiao, 108 
Sung Fan, Viceroy of Kansuh, 450, 451 
Sung, Prince, 218 
Sung Yiin, Resident at Lhasa, 321 
Sun Yat-sen, 221, 225 
Superstitions, characteristic, 243 
Su Shun, Lnperial clansman, 406 et seq. 

death of, 417, 418, 470 et seq. 
Symptoms of demoralisation, 372 

T'ai hit. Magistracy, 36 

Taiping Court at Nanking, 406, 410, 423 

rebellion, 391, 405 et seq., 422 et seq., 
475 

genesis of, 423 
T'ai Tsu, 217 
T'ai Tsung, Emperor, 143 

ambitions of, 143, 144 

correspondence with Ming Emperor, 
148, 149, 151, 153 

death of, 157 

invades Korea, 146 

raids China, 147 

receives State seal of Mongol dynasty, 
146 

subjugates Charhar Mongols, 145 

takes Port Arthur, 145 
T'ai Yiian-fu, siege of, 93 
T'an, " Heaven-compelling " singer, 604 
Tantla Pass, n. 333 
Tao Kuang, Emperor, 375, 390 et seq. 

and Tseng Kuo-fan, 400 et seq. 

character of, 391, 394 

signs Nanking Treaty, 399 
Taranatha Lama, 280 
Tashilhimpo, sack of, n. 333 
Temple of Ancestors, 57, 93, 359 
Temple of Heaven, 93, 115, 342 



529 



INDEX 



Teng, " the large-thighed," 231 
Te, Prince, cousin of Ming Emperor, 147 
Theatricals, palace, 136, 172, 335, 501, 603 
Tibet, 320 

British mission to, 332 

China's suzerainty over, 320 

war with Nepal, 321, n. 333 
T'ien Ch'i, Emperor Hsi Tsung, 56 et seq. 
T'ien, Concubine, 104 et seq., 122 
T'ien Ming, reign title of Nurhachi 
T'ien Tsung, reign title of Huang Taiki, 

143 
T'ien Wen-ching, 305, 306 
Ting, Prince, 122 
Ting, Prince, grandson of Ch'ien Lung, 

364, 369, 370 
Trading centre at Peking, 322 
Treaty of alliance between Li Tzu-ch'eng 

and Wu San-kuei, 114, 119, 122 
Treaty of Nanking, 396, 399 
Tsai Chen, son of Prince Ch'ing, 446 
Tsai Ch'u, 479 
Tsai Lan, Duke, 458 et seq. 
Tsai Lien, Beileh, 446, 447 
Tsai Yiian, n. 271, 481 
Ts'ao Chen-yung, Grand Secretary, 393, 

403, 404 
Tseng Kuo-fan, 400 et seq., 419, 422, 426, 

492 
Tsin, eunuch, 440 

Tso Kuang-tou, Censor, 51, 52, 56, 76 
Tso Tsung fang, 419, 422, 477, 484, 489 
Tsui Wen-hsiang, eunuch, 52, 53 
Tuan, Prince (Boxer), 455 
Tu Hsiin, eunuch, Commander-in-Chief, 

94, 96, 98, 99, 115 
Tu Shou-t'ien, Imperial tutor, 391, 392 
Tung Chia, Empress of Shun Chih, 234 
T'ung Chih, Emperor, Il9, 469, 477 

character of, 419 

death of, 478-80 

escapades of, 420, 478 

marriage, 420 
Tung, Lady, Concubine, 234, 235 
Tzu An, Empress, 469, 473, 476 et seq., 
481 et seq. 

death of, 483-84, 486 et seq. 
Tzii Hsi, Empress Dowager, 337, n. 367, 
394, 400, 419, 422, 461, 466 et seq. 

and astrologers, 226 

and Censor Wang P'eng-yiin, 436 

and Tzii An, 481 et seq. 

character of, 336, 466 et seq. 

coup d'etat, 430, 364 

en retraite, 434 

executes Su Shun, 417; and usurping 
Regents, 418 



Tzu Hsi, Empress Dowager, (continued) 
her pearl -embroidered jacket, 364 

her relations with Kuang Hsii, 429 et 
seq. 

homilies of, 272 

sympathy with Boxers, 455 

the verdict of history, 492 

usurps power, 433, 476 

Verbiest, 221, 239 
Visdelou, Claude de, 240 

Wan Ching, Board Secretary, 74 
Wang An, eunuch, 56, 58, 70 
Wang'Ch'eng-en, eunuch, 98, 100, 103 
Wang Ch'eng-yiin, General, 98 
Wang Kao, alleged father of Shun Chih, 

230-32 
Wang P'eng-yiin, Censor, 434 et seq. 
Wang Ting-lin, Grand Secretary, 397 
Wang Wen-shao, 450, 457, 460 
Wang Yung-chang, Diary of, 119, 122, 

124 
Wan Li, Ming Emperor, 47 et seq., 313 

Heir Apparent of, 47-52, 377 
Wei Ching-ynan, Governor of Ta T'ung- 

fu, 96, 97 
Wei Chung-hsien, the infamous eunuch, 

47, 55 et seq., 142, 168, 232, 360 
Wei Liang-ch'ing, 79 
Wei Ta-ching, 74, 76 
" Wen Ching,'' writings of, 230, 466 
Wen Hsiang, 419, 480 
Western Market, place of execution, 415 
White Lily Conspiracy, 346, 347, 373 
" Writer on Court Subjects, A," 486 
Wu Ch'ang, captured by Manchus, 116 
Wu Chao-ping, 324 
Wu Hsiang, General, 113, 119 
Wu Ko-tu, Censor, 491 
Wu Len-cheng, suicide of, 110 
Wu San-kuei, 98, 110, 118 et seq. 

allies himself with Manchus, 126 et seq. 

allies himself with Li Tzu-ch'eng, 119, 
123, 125 

and last of the Mings, 124, 214 

and the " Round-faced Beauty," 113 
119 e^ seq. 

character of, 134 et seq. 

death of, 132 

defeats Li Tzu-ch'eng, 123 

defence of Ning Yuan, 112, 118 

his career, 119 et seq., 132 

his father, 125 

his rebeUion in 1674, 128, 133-35 
Wu Su, 111, 112 
Wu Tai Mountain, 85 



530 




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